


Hilary's Ursa Major Mistake

by Metal_Chocobo



Series: Swords are Remarkably Useless [2]
Category: Women's Hockey RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, F/F, Fairy Godparents, Talking Animals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-29
Updated: 2015-05-29
Packaged: 2018-04-01 15:35:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 34,002
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4025332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Metal_Chocobo/pseuds/Metal_Chocobo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bear desires lead to chilling consequences… Princess Hilary was ready to grow up, stop hitting on her fairy godmother, and convince the queen of her dreams to marry her and unit their neighboring kingdoms. Instead she accidentally kicked off eternal winter in the kingdom of Wisconsin. Now she and Noora, King of the Sea Bears, must journey north to put a halt to this magical disaster.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Hilary's Ursa Major Mistake

**Author's Note:**

> I like this title much better than the original, "Hilary and the Bear King," which was essentially a placeholder until the proper one occurred to me.

“Julie Chu, I need you!” Hilary shouted. These days she felt a touch silly about choosing that specific phrase to summon her fairy godmother, but it had been their signal since she was three and she wasn’t about to change it now. She couldn’t really; fairy godmother magic was oddly specific about this sort of thing.

In a puff of fuchsia glitter Julie appeared. That was the only downside to having a magical being who could fix most of your problems, they tended to leave a glittery mess behind. It wasn’t as hard to remove as pixie dust, but Hilary learned at a young age not to summon her fairy godmother when she needed her room cleaned. Julie wiped a bit of the glitter off her wings and straightened her bangs before looking at her charge. Hilary had a large grin on her face, which made the fairy godmother frown and narrow her eyes.

“Hilary, you better have summoned me for a legitimate purpose and not to simply test out pick up lines that were outdated in the eighth century,” Julie warned, waving a finger at her. She never unnecessarily waved her wand as that could lead to accidents. Julie was one of the most responsible fairies currently serving as a godmother and she believed in setting the best example she could for her princess, much to Hilary’s chagrin. Hilary never got to pull any of the magically fueled pranks she had wanted to growing up.

“Oh come on, Chuey, I haven’t tried that since I was fourteen,” Hilary whined. “No, I’m in love.”

“I see.”

“I’m serious!”

“Just like you were about Lady Marie-Philip?” Hilary turned bright red and muttered that she had a perfectly innocent reason for being found under the lady’s skirt. After a mumbled explanation under her breath Hilary frantically waved her arms in the air and glared at Julie.

“Would you forget about ancient history and help me out? I thought helping me with my love life was like your primary job,” Hilary grumbled. “Not teasing me about my mistakes.”

“Keeping you safe and healthy is my first duty, but I consider making you a better person to be a close second,” Julie said, smiling. “If the most effective way to do that is through teasing, then I’ll tease away.”

“Can’t even get my fairy godmother to take me seriously.”

“I’m sorry, Hilary, guiding you on matters of the heart is one of my more important tasks,” Julie apologized. “I’m setting aside your track record right now. Tell me about her.”

“She’s really pretty with long blonde hair, blue eyes, and an awkward smile. A bit stiff and overly formal in public, but if you can break through that exterior she’s got a wicked sense of humor. Amanda’s something special.”

“Amanda who?” Julie asked. There hadn’t been that many girls’ of that name in Hilary’s social circle, but it had been a while since they had last talked. If the princess hadn’t summoned her today Julie would have shown up on her own later this month. A lot of fairy godmothers weren’t that close to their charges, but Julie and Hilary bonded over the years, probably due to all the trouble Hilary had caused. Julie still couldn’t look the court falconer in the eye since The Turkey Vulture Incident.

“Princess Amanda of Wisconsin,” Hilary answered promptly. “Well, I guess she’s queen now, since her father died last month.”

“Isn’t she the one you refused to have anything to do with because she was just a little girl?” Julie asked, thinking hard. “You stranded her in the lowland swamps when you were nine and it took us two days to find her.”

“That was an accident!”

“And when you were eleven you locked her in the Western Tower and ordered her execution.”

“We were pretending!”

“Then why did you need a real axe?” Julie demanded. “You’re lucky I caught you before you tried beheading her!”

“I thought you’d fix everything later.”

“Even my magic has its limits.”

“I know that now,” Hilary said. She flopped backwards onto her bed. “I’m gonna ask her to marry me.”

“She’s more likely to murder you.”

“Naw Chuey, she got me back pretty good this winter for the solstice. We were able to patch things up and have been corresponding ever since.”

“I’m impressed by this unexpected maturity.”

“Yeah, well she grew up really nice and I’m a sucker for a pretty face,” Hilary laughed. She sobered and sat up to look her fairy godmother in the eye. “I really like her and this would be a good move politically. Wisconsin is a peninsula kingdom with a lot of rich natural resources and The Hub is the only kingdom direct access. Until they found out Amanda was gonna be Amanda our fathers were arranging a marriage contract to unify our kingdoms. If Amanda’s willing, I’d like to honor that sentiment.”

Julie was stunned by Hilary’s reasoning. Her princess was growing up and showing flashes of the reasonable and just ruler Julie hoped she would become. The fairy godmother had feared her charge wouldn’t begin maturing until she was on the throne and even then that was no guarantee it would ever happen. She sat down to listen and encourage this development.

“We have an officially scheduled visit for the fall equinox, but I plan to ride north a little sooner and propose. I know she’s still in mourning, I’ll probably get rejected, but I want Amanda to know I’m interested. Other kings and nobles are already sniffing around.” Hilary frowned and crossed her arms. “I need help figuring out how to propose. Amanda needs to know I want her for more than just her kingdom and even if she rejects me in favor of someone else—unless it’s King Nick of Minnesnowta, I don’t want him bordering us on two sides, especially because his council would demand free passage for his men through my country—it’s okay. I want to be her friend more than a spurned lover. I don’t know how to get that across.”

“Why don’t you tell her what you just told me?” Julie suggested gently, feeling incredibly proud of her little girl.

“And sound like a simpering lack wit who has yet to be weaned?” Hilary snorted, shaking her head. “No thanks.”

Julie did not roll her eyes or shake her princess despite the urge to do so. Hilary was not as mature as Julie had initially hoped. At least she had fallen for a suitable partner. Besides already being already royalty and the facts Hilary had mentioned, Julie had heard good things about Wisconsin’s new queen. While not quite the workhorse of King Ryan—no one was—Queen Amanda dove into her royal duties headfirst. From all accounts, both magical and mundane, she was doing her best to become an active ruler who put her kingdom first and protected her people’s best interests. She might be exactly the balance Hilary needed to care for her own kingdom.

They talked extensively for hours, laying out the groundwork for a successful proposal. Both women wanted to make this a successful endeavor and even for similar reasons. By the time they finished Julie felt rather hopeful about the entire venture and Hilary was ready to ride out on the morrow. She couldn’t imagine Amanda turning down Hilary’s charm.

Hilary spent the next day getting her affairs in order and rode out at dawn on the following day. It took her horse three days to travel from Blixt Castle to the Wisconsin border and another two to reach Madison, Wisconsin’s royal castle. She was welcomed on sight, as her family visited numerous times over the years, and placed in the individual quarters she had received since becoming an adult.

Hilary was a little put out Amanda didn’t come visit her. In the past Amanda would show up before Hilary started unpacking, but today she finished uninterrupted. She told herself Amanda was just busy with the queen things, even if her father always found time to greet important guests. However, when she was seated with the queen mother at dinner and no queen proper in sight she demanded to know where Amanda was. Thankfully Amanda’s mother was used to Hilary’s brash ways and did not take offense. She explained that as Hilary and her parents had not expected for another three weeks Amanda was up north in the Glacial Mountains discussing important negotiations with the Bear King.

This alarmed Hilary as the only important negotiation she could think of were marriage negotiation. Amanda deserved better than a silly old bear, even if he was a king. Bears—and these were sea bears as Hilary had never heard of another type that was intelligent enough to partake in diplomacy—were known to eat people on occasion. Actually, it was more like frequently. Hilary hadn’t been allowed to swim or sail on Green Bay as a child out of fear a sea bear might have bite to eat. They liked to capsize small fishing boats and eat the crew. She had also heard of sea bears banding together after being attacked on land and razing entire villages. Outside of a giant or some sort of wyrm Hilary could think of no more dangerous beast. She was not about to leave her ladylove in mortal danger with their king.

Hilary set off to rescue Amanda right after dinner. She couldn't believe the younger woman had done something as foolhardy as meet with the Bear King at a remote mountain location; even she wasn’t that stupid. Facing any sea bear was facing death and Hilary figured the Bear King had to be worse than the rest of them. He had to be king for a reason.

It took Hilary the better part of a week to reach the Glacial Mountains and locate the correct cave. She was clued in to the fact she had finally found the right one by the company of knights camped outside. When they noticed her presence they all reached for their weapons, but then relaxed upon recognition. Hilary grinned. She was glad to see she already had the trust of Amanda’s people. It would make things easier if they did marry. One knight rose to hold her reins as she dismounted.

“Princess Hilary?” Sir Megan Bozek greeted her. “We are delighted to see you, of course, but what are you doing here?”

“I came to find the Queen, Bozie,” Hilary said, lightly elbowing the knight in the chest. One more serious note she added, “I hear she’s meeting with the Bear King.”

Bozek nodded grimly and pointed to the cave. “The Queen is in there alone with Noora. We don’t like it, but she ordered us to stay out. We can’t disobey her majesty’s direct command.”

“Luckily I’m not under any such obligation,” Hilary said, heading straight for the cave.

Inside the cave Hilary spotted a massive white bear standing on all fours that was taller than she at the shoulder, Amanda was pressed against the wall quietly staring into an open maw inches from her face. As Hilary drew her sword she hysterically noted Amanda looked oddly tranquil as the sea bear’s breath blew her hair about. With a roar Hilary charged the Bear King, stabbing the beast first in the shoulder then several times in the chest as the monster turned toward her. Good. Hilary was a much better match for the Bear King than the queen.

The sea bear snarled and rose up on hind legs until her—Hilary distantly noted this was a lady bear—back brushed the ceiling. Belatedly Hilary realized she was no match for a beast twice her size. She raised her sword to ward off the expected blow. Hilary didn’t see the paw hit her, but it slammed into her side knocking her to the ground. Her weapons master would be disgusted, but Hilary lost her grip on her blade and it clattered across the cave floor.

“What the hell are you doing, Hilary?” Amanda shouted in her ear. Oh, Amanda had tackled her. “I can’t believe you just stabbed Noora! Repeatedly!”

“I thought she was going to eat you,” Hilary protested. “Or marry you.”

“Why would I do that during trade negotiations?” Noora rumbled, slowly lowering herself to the ground. “As for marriage… I already have a beautiful mate who is carrying my cubs. I have no need of another.”

“If you’re both lady bears, how did you knock her up?” Hilary asked. Two faces stared down incredulously at her and the princess realized that this was perhaps not the best time to inquire about sea bear reproduction.

“Is this Hilary one of yours?” Noora asked. Amanda rapidly shook her head. She probably deserved it, but Hilary felt a stab of rejection at this denial.

“She’s an idiot princess from our neighbors to the south,” Amanda explained. “I don’t know what she’s doing here. She’s not even supposed to be in this kingdom for another two weeks.”

“Then it matters not.” The Bear King shook, sending splatters of blood everywhere. “I have met leopard seals with worse bites than her stick of steel. My wounds will heal soon enough. Do not dwell upon it.”

“Thank you,” Amanda said. She patted Hilary on the chest. “Guess you won’t be bear chow today, Hils.”

“If you attacked Mira this would be a different matter,” Noora rumbled, baring her teeth. “Both your bones would be crunching between my teeth. No harm comes to my mate.”

“Understood,” Amanda said, rising to her feet. “Now about those salmon floats…”

Hilary tuned her out now that they were negotiating again. This vein of conversation did not interest her, and unless Amanda accepted her marriage proposal, which Hilary seriously doubted would happen now, would not affect her in the slightest. She clambered to her feet and sheepishly went to retrieve her sword. Her misreading of the situation nearly got them both killed. Maybe this was what Julie meant when she told her not to dive into things headfirst.

As she bent down to retrieve her weapon Hilary caught movement with the corner of her eye. When she straightened she realized it came from a pile of smelly old furs. Looked like elk or caribou. She nudged some of the fur away with her sword, curiously wondering if the fur was infested with mice. When the hide fell away to reveal white fur and a half-lidded eye Hilary swore then froze. She was in trouble. She hadn’t been expecting another sea bear.

Before Hilary could retract the blade a paw roughly the size of her chest slammed her into the wall. Noora had pulverized some of her ribs with that blow, but at least Hilary hadn’t lost her sword this time. She briefly wondered how painful it would be to be crushed to death by sea bear jaws. Suddenly Noora howled in pain and Hilary smelled burnt fur.

“Get your paws off her!” Amanda shouted as she sloppily rolled a fireball between her hands. Hilary had never been more grateful Amanda received an affinity with flame at her christening instead of a fairy godmother.

Noora retracted her paw, turning on Amanda. Apparently fire was more effective than steel, which made sense as sea bears were built to handle water, ice, and snow. Hilary slumped down, but when her feet touched the ground she propelled herself forward. As she rushed past the irate Bear King she wrapped an arm around Amanda’s waist and pulled the queen out of the cave. Unfortunately they crashed into her company of knights at the cave’s mouth, as they came to rescue the royal pair. Luckily Amanda’s knights were efficient, for they quickly righted themselves and put both women on Hilary’s horse. Hilary assumed Amanda arrived on her own steed, but most of the horses had bolted in terror from the sea bear’s roars.

Hilary looked back when she heard a man scream. Noora was tearing through the knights like they were tissue paper. The Bear King barely noticed the warriors with their weapons, as all she was focused on was lumbering after Hilary. The princess vaguely wondered why the sea bear was chasing them so slowly down the mountainside. Amanda screamed at her people to retreat, they weren’t stopping or delaying the Bear King in the slightest; all their efforts managed to do was get them killed. Hilary had seen sea bears run down horses and caribou on a flat plain before, and they certainly outran humans along mountain streams, so she didn’t understand how she wasn’t dead yet.

Noora roared and Hilary’s horse skittered on an unexpected ice patch. That was weird, as there shouldn’t be any ice or snow. Not at this time of year, not even on this part of the Glacial Mountains. Her horse did not fall and continued his rapid canter down the steep trail as if it had never happened. The repeated spine numbing bounces dislodged something in Hilary’s memory. 

When she was little Ilya Bryzgalov, court physician and resident magical monster expert, had attempted to teach Hilary basic magical theory. She enjoyed those sessions because Bryz always brought sweets and could easily be diverted from the lesson plan into telling her monster stories. One time they got onto the subject of sea bears, and to a lesser extent bears in general as Bryz considered them all to be walking maws of death. He explained that she’d be dead in the water if she ever met one there, sea bears were masters of that environment, but she had a chance of survival if she met one on a slope. Sure, they could run uphill with the same speed as any other bear, but unlike their landlubber cousins sea bears couldn’t run downhill. They didn’t have the shoulders for it. At best they managed a lumbering stroll. Of course it didn’t matter how fast you could run if they froze your feet together. Sea bears had natural blizzard magic and unlike humans, size did matter. The bigger the bear the stronger the magic.

As thick fat snowflakes fell on their heads Hilary really regretted pissing off the biggest sea bear around. Quickly the road was covered in white and a nasty wind rose attempting to steal all their heat. The conditions were so bad the princess didn’t even realize her horse was on a wooden bridge until he trotted off it. Shortly after the crossing Noora let out an eardrum-shattering roar. A massive pile of snow knocked both women off Hilary’s horse. Snow-blind Hilary struggled to her feet. She wasn’t going to be taken unaware by the Bear King. She swung her blade wildly.

“Whoa, holster that thing before you take off an arm,” Bozek exclaimed. “Where’s the queen?”

“In the snow somewhere. What happened?” Hilary asked, sheathing her weapon and wiping the snow off her face. She and the much-reduced company of knights dug through the snow for Amanda. Visibility was almost nonexistent. Hilary realized she was shivering only after she noticed Bozek shaking. None of them were dressed for winter.

“As I crossed the bridge I cut the support ropes,” Bozek explained. “I was the last to cross, so it made sense. Halted that damn sea bear in her tracks.”

Amanda was half frozen when Hilary finally found her. Bozek wrapped her cloak around her, but that didn’t seem to help. Amanda was pretty out of it, but once her arms were around Hilary’s neck she refused to let go. Hilary was glad to share her heat. Bozek stuck them on a wider sturdy warhorse instead of Hilary’s gelding. They continued their descent at a slower pace now that a deadly sea bear wasn’t actively chasing them.

Hilary thought the weather would be better once they were out of the mountains. She was wrong. Despite the distance from Noora’s initial casting Wisconsin’s flat lands looked worse than the mountain altitude. The land was covered in snow that went up to their horses’ bellies and a pair of knights on the largest horses quickly plowed a path for the rest of the company. They made camp in the first building they found to warm Amanda. By morning the queen was recovered, but the kingdom was not. Everything was frozen over as furious storm clouds dumped Wisconsin’s worst winter weather. Each day’s travel progressed at a snail’s pace as the weather did not improve. It took almost a fortnight to reach Madison Castle, but when they arrived the stronghold was encased in almost a foot of ice. With this unfortunate reality they rode south to Hilary’s home.

As soon as they left Wisconsin the weather returned to normal. While Amanda’s knights had joked and done their best to keep spirits up they fell silent at this change. Amanda had been quiet since they awoke in the shack. She was not happy with Hilary and the magical winter ending at her borders did not improve matters. As soon as they reached Hilary’s home, Blixt Castle, Wisconsin’s queen refused to talk with the princess and locked herself in her rooms. All of Amanda’s interactions were filtered through her knights.

Hilary despaired at this turn of events. She summoned her fairy godmother and explained what happened. When she finished Julie stared in silence. This was a big fuck up, but it technically wasn’t all Hilary’s fault. She hoped Julie could fix things. Hilary did not want to be remembered as the one who cast Wisconsin into eternal winter.

“Can you fix this?” Hilary asked earnestly. “Or do you know how I can fix this?”

“Weather magic isn’t my forte,” Julie admitted. “Magic of this magnitude… the spell usually needs to be reversed by the caster.”

“Noora will eat me alive if I go anywhere near her. She thinks I was threatening her mate, which is totally wrong because I didn’t realize she was even there!”

“Which is why you can’t go back there.” Julie sighed and rubbed her temples. “Hilary, sit tight. I’m going to go check my books at home and visit the best sorceress I know. If she doesn’t have a solution her library will. I just need to brush up on my griffin if her librarians are to be of any help. Their writing in the reference catalogue looks like chicken scratch. In the mean time, give Amanda space.”

Before Hilary could argue Julie disappeared leaving behind a light dusting of fuchsia glitter. Hilary tried to follow her fairy godmother’s instructions. She avoided the passage to Amanda’s quarters like it held plague-bearing rats. Instead she stayed outside mostly, practicing drills with her favorite knight, Sir Meghan Duggan, and later Sir Bozek too. Bozek’s inclusion gave Hilary hope as she fought the both of them. She was fiercely loyal to her queen, so surely she wouldn’t be working with Hilary if Amanda never wanted to speak to her again. A week passed without word from Julie or Amanda. Hilary’s parents gave her wide berth as the princess grew more and more like a caged animal. She had to do something.

Then a report arrived from the border patrol. The ice and snow was slowly spreading from Wisconsin. Worse still several men had been killed by beasts that appeared to consist of ice and snow. They merged with the snowfall only to ambush unsuspecting victims and then later melt away. If something wasn’t done soon, all of the northern province would become a frozen hellscape. Upon hearing this Hilary knew she had to disregard Julie’s advice and take action. Fairy godmothers had a different sense of time and she might not be back for weeks or even years. Amanda’s people would all be dead by then. Hilary couldn’t let that happen.

She marched up to Amanda’s door and pounded the wood, shouting her friend’s name. There was no response, other than the sound of breaking porcelain. Hilary figured that meant Amanda was still mad at her, but at least she had her attention. Without knowing if Amanda was willing to listen Hilary launched into her murky plan of action.

“Amanda, I know it’s my fault Wisconsin is cursed with eternal winter and I’m sorry. I promise I’ll fix it. Julie’s been working on this problem since we got back, but she’s taking too long. Your people are in trouble and the winter is spreading.” Hilary paused, leaning against the door. She regretted what she had to say next, though she knew she had to say it. Then carry through and act, as her word was her bond. “I’m going to convince the Bear King to end the winter. Julie says that’s the most likely way to fix this, so that’s what I’ll do. Hopefully a month of unexpected winter won’t have hurt your kingdom too badly.”

She almost fell on the queen when Amanda opened the door. Instead Hilary caught herself, but her face ended up leeringly close to the shorter woman’s. Hilary had hoped for concern, but the blonde looked annoyed to her.

“Noora will eat you before you can get the words out,” she said flatly, “and your death will accomplish nothing.”

“Or maybe it’ll calm her down enough to end this,” Hilary retorted. “Look, I don’t exactly plan to walk into her jaws of death, Amanda, but I need to do something besides sit on my hands. What’s the point of being a princess if I can’t save a kingdom once in a while?”

“Training time to become a fair and just governing force that protects and nurtures her people?” Amanda suggested.

“Naw, it’s to do cool shit and rescue people,” Hilary explained.

“How did such reasonable people as your parents end up with a daughter like you?” Amanda asked.

“They got lucky,” Hilary grinned. She held it until she saw the ghost of a smile flit over Amanda’s face. Then it was time to be serious again. “I want this problem fixed before nature’s winter descends. Those beasts killing my scouts seem to be bound to the ice and snow. I can’t have them running amok all through my kingdom once winter gives them free range. Think of the carnage.”

“But it’s fine for my kingdom?”

“No! If I’m not back by All Hallows Eve nor have you seen any sign of the ice receding assume I’ve failed. I’ve also set Bryz searching for a solution, so he’ll be of assistance to you.”

“Right, like I’m leaving the fate of Wisconsin in your hands. I’m coming too.”

“What? No!”

“Yes, otherwise I won’t let you cross into my lands. Someone needs to be there to convince Noora to break the curse while she’s full from eating you. She’s talked with me before, so she’ll talk to me again, especially since Mira, who is an absolutely lovely sea bear, likes me.”

They argued for a bit longer, but eventually Hilary gave in. Time was of the essence and Amanda had far more valid arguments for going than Hilary had to keep her away. Of the two of them Hilary had more of a target on her back, as she was the only one the Bear King really wanted dead. Besides, Hilary was secretly half glad Amanda was coming along. If being eaten alive really was the only solution Hilary wanted to spend her last days with the woman she loved, even if Amanda didn’t know she felt that way and didn’t want to hear it.

They packed the best winter gear they could find and filled their bags with food. There would be nothing edible for them to find in Wisconsin. Then Hilary dropped in on Bryz to see if he could offer any magical aid.

“This is bad plan! Terrible!” Bryz snapped, slamming a velum tome on his workbench. “Bears are death, Hilary, and sea bears are the worst! Better to deal with a constipated dragon than a sea bear!”

“We’re all out of dragons, Bryz. Tell me how to face the monster I have.”

“Get her to owe you a favor,” Bryz sighed, waving a hand. “Unlike the other death tanks, sea bears are honor bound. And whatever you do, don’t be seal-like.”

“How do I avoid that?”

Bryz bit his lip and shook his head. He turned away from her and dug through his cupboards. From his manner Hilary got the sense that if she didn’t understand how to not be ‘seal-like’ he couldn’t explain it to her. A lot of things concerning Bryz were like that. It seemed to be part of the package for being a wizard. She was about to leave when the wizard returned and handed her a small jar.

“What is it?” Hilary asked excitedly. She hoped it was a potion that would make her invulnerable to cold or harm.

“Honey, princess,” Bryz answered. “Bears love it. Sea bears might too. Whatever you do, do not spill it on yourself. The Bear King will find you tasty enough as it is.”

Dubious about this gift, Hilary thanked him and left. In the stables she met up with Amanda, as they had planned, only to be accosted by Duggan and Bozek. They had figured out what Hilary was planning and refused to let the royal pair leave without them. Amanda was pissed. Hilary was furious.

“If you refuse to take us with you we will sound the alarm and your parents will put you both under house arrest,” Duggan said. “Then you won’t be able to do a thing about this winter.”

“This is treason,” Hilary hissed.

“No, your highness, this is us doing our jobs,” Duggan said. Bozek nodded in agreement. “We would rather be executed for treason later than let you go alone.”

“Explain,” Amanda ordered. Duggan bowed her head and licked her lips. Bozek stepped forward.

“If you go alone you will die before you reach the Bear King,” Bozek said. “We’ve seen the reports, entire squads have been taken out by the frost beasts.”

“We’ve been friends since we were pages, Hilary, and I know you’re the most talented knight this kingdom has produced in years, but you’re only one woman,” Duggan began. “There are hundreds of these things and we don’t know how to kill them. You need our sword arms to keep them at bay.”

“I can handle it,” Hilary insisted, but now she wasn’t so sure.

“You might be able to, your highness, but my queen is not a warrior,” Bozek continued. “If not for you, then we go for her.”

Hilary looked over at her friend. Amanda was lost in thought, her recent frown etched across her face. After a long moment she nodded, giving her consent. The princess was willing to gamble with her own life, but not the queen’s. Hilary would do everything in her power to ensure Amanda was still alive to rule when this was over.

Returning to the Glacial Mountains was difficult. The blizzard never let up, they were cold even with all their winter gear, and shelter was lacking. They were under constant attack. Hilary was grateful for her companions. Amanda kept them from freezing in this fuel-less land and the knights allowed her to sleep. On her own the frost beasts would have eaten her the first day. Hilary didn’t know how anything natural could survive this sort of environment long term. However, from what Amanda said as they trudged along—they released the horses at winter’s edge, not wanting to needlessly kill their faithful steeds—that this was similar to the sea bears’ native home. Hilary couldn’t imagine anything more depressing.

They made it halfway up the mountain before Hilary realized they had a problem. On their flight down the mountain Bozek severed the rope bridge across the gorge to trap Noora on the other side. While Hilary was confident the gorge was filled with snow and ice now, she did not trust for a second that it was solid enough for them to cross. Luckily Bozek remembered her previous actions better than Hilary did for she brought rope and hooks in her bag. When they found the posts for the bridge Duggan hurled a roped hook at the opposite side’s posts until it firmly lodged in one. Then they secured their end of the rope.

“I cut all the support ropes on the right side as I crossed,” Bozek said. “That way the bridge was still limply hanging, but clearly couldn’t support anyone, much less a sea bear. Thought it would make repairs easier.”

“We’ll walk along the secure rope while holding to this new one,” Duggan said. “Bozie takes point, followed by Queen Amanda, then Princess Hilary, and finally I’ll cover the rear.”

“How do you do that?” Hilary asked. “We grew up together, Dugs, but our plans don’t sync up half as well as yours and Bozie’s do. What’s the deal?” The knights exchanged a smile.

“Do you have any idea how hard it has been coordinating to keep the two of you safe over the last fifteen years?” Duggan asked. “A lot of it predates our knightings, but ever since her majesty could walk you two have been, pardon my language, a nightmare to protect.”

“Sir Angela Ruggiero nearly retired after she had to rescue the pair of you from a rapidly tearing bed sheet as you dangled halfway down the side of a tower,” Bozek said. “And Sir Heatly lost his eye when you accidentally shot him, your majesty, when Princess Hilary was teaching you to use a bow.”

“He said that was a hunting accident,” Amanda said, mortified.

“Well, you were hunting quail at the time.” Bozek shrugged uncomfortably. “I’m sorry he never told you the truth. He was worried it would hurt your feelings.”

Amanda fell silent and wrapped her arms around herself at this. Worried, Hilary suggested they cross before they got attacked again. There had been surprisingly few attacks on the mountainside, so Hilary hoped the frost beasts just didn’t bother getting close to Noora. They took to the rope bridge in the order Duggan suggested and slowly inched forward. Perhaps it wasn’t the wisest to have all four women on the ropes at the same time, but they didn’t want to be separated. An attack with half their forces on the wrong side of the gorge would be deadly.

Everything was fine until they were halfway across. A jackal shaped frost beast leaped out of a snow bank and attacked Duggan, sinking its fangs into her thigh. The knight cried in pain as Hilary swiftly drew her sword and beheaded it. However, the disembodied head kept chewing on her. Duggan lost her grip on the rope. It was only thanks to the snow slowing her descent that Hilary was able to grab her before Duggan fell out of reach. She pulled the knight onto her back and returned her attention to the rope.

Bozek hustled Amanda along as more frost beasts appeared. They had to fight their way off the rope bridge. When they were finally on solid ground Amanda used a fireball to melt away the frost beast’s head, leaving behind a bad wound on Duggan’s leg. She was too hurt to walk, so Hilary tied her to her back despite the knight’s protests. Hilary wasn’t losing anyone to these monsters. Bozek took to slashing at any frost beasts that neared them and Amanda hurled fireballs. They were able to continue their slow progression.

When they reached the clearing in front of the sea bear cave Hilary was shocked to find all the snow trampled down. Noora stood snarling on all fours as she squared off against a dozen frost beasts. She smashed two of the frost beasts with one swipe of her paw before whirling around to crunch a frost beast attacking her rear. Several of the magical monsters leaped upon the Bear King. She rolled onto her back to dislodge them, but more of the beasts went for her belly.

Hilary sliced through one of the frost beasts on Noora’s chest before she realized what she was doing. Yet again she jumped into things without thinking. She briefly met the sea bear’s icy eyes before hacking another frost beast and ignored her fear that the Bear King would turn on her. Noora paused briefly, then resumed her previous attack. It was a little surreal having her back pressed into Noora’s massive furry leg as they fought side by side.

Hilary slew the last frost beast and turned to find Noora staring at her. At first she was on all fours and at eye level with the princess, but then she rose up on her hind legs to look down upon the human. Amanda and Bozek rushed to her side. Duggan hobbled as fast as she could to join them. Hilary sheathed her blade and motioned for the others to do the same.

“What are you doing here?” Noora rumbled. She hadn’t attacked them yet, which was fantastic news. It she was willing to listen. Hilary could convince her to end the winter. Amanda opened her mouth to speak, but Hilary silenced her with a touch. Noora was focused on her. She was the one who needed to apologize.

“I’m sorry, Bear King,” Hilary began. “I meant no harm to you or your mate. I didn’t even realize she was there. While it’s true I did attack you, that was because I thought Amanda, someone I wish to make my mate, was in mortal danger. Our meeting was plagued by accident and misunderstanding, which has had disastrous results. To fix relations between sea bears and Wisconsin I place my life in your paws.”

Amanda stiffened beside Hilary during her speech. Perhaps Hilary should have found time to mention her interest in the queen to the queen, but there hadn’t been a chance. Amanda had been so angry with her she had refused to talk to her about anything other than the quest. This sort of topic required cool heads and a bit of finesse, which just hadn’t been available. Hilary’s gloved hand brushed against Amanda’s glove, but she didn’t respond. Well, at least Hilary could feel better about never getting a chance to propose. Still, it was kind of a shame to know Amanda rejected her right before Noora ate her.

Noora rumbled deep in her throat for a minute as the humans waited. Then she dropped to all fours and turned away from them, walking toward the cave. “Come along then,” she growled. “Do not make me regret this.”

Hilary exchanged glances with the other humans then rushed after the sea bear. She wasn’t about to turn that invitation down. Amanda and the knights followed close behind. When they reached the mouth of the cave they paused staring into the darkness. It may not bother the sea bear, but the humans did not want to navigate in the dark. There was a bit of grunting and growling from the darkness. Hilary thought she could hear two distinct voices. She didn’t know how much time passed, but suddenly the walls gave off a blue-green glow. Not all the walls, it was patchy, but enough to safely move. She touched one of the glowing patches as she crept inside and realized it was some sort of moss.

They found Noora settled near the back of the cave by a much smaller bear. That had to be her mate, Mira. She sat up looking around blinking blearily at the humans, exposing her sharp deadly teeth with a yawn. Mira looked about as wide as her much larger mate and Hilary wondered if she would be sleeker if she wasn’t pregnant.

“Oh, hello Amanda,” Mira murmured.

“Good evening Mira,” Amanda greeted in response. “Did you make the plants glow?”

“Mmm hmm,” the sea bear affirmed before lying down beside her mate. Noora nuzzled her mate, but Mira pushed her away. “I’m tired, Noora.”

“Mira, I brought you human to eat,” Noora said, pushing the princess toward her mate with a paw. “Surely you can manage a nibble. I know you must be hungry by now. It’s been days since you touched any of the elk or caribou I brought you.”

“I don’t wanna eat human,” Mira whined. “They are too boney and often come canned.” Hilary hadn’t realized how grateful she would be for pulling chainmail over her furs before leaving home. If it kept her off the menu she was all for it.

Fuzzy paws, seal rump,” Noora growled, pushing her nose into Mira’s neck fur. It was a different growl from Noora’s previous one and Hilary was shocked to realize this had to be the closest thing sea bears had to a purr. “You need to eat. You are carrying cubs. Your fat stores are not enough for three and if you rely on them alone you will get sick then slowly wither away. Please eat something.”

“I’m sore, tired, and in pain,” Mira groused. “Nothing tastes good and I cannot get any sleep as the cubs keep fighting. Being pregnant sucks.”

The Bear King cuddled up to her mate as best as she could. Even though Noora wanted to feed her to Mira Hilary felt rather bad for her. She was obviously very worried about her mate and unborn cubs. Pregnancy was rough. While Hilary had never personally been pregnant, she remembered her mother having an awful time before losing her little brothers. Considering how much grief the losses had caused her family she wanted to do whatever she could to keep Noora from experiencing a similar pain. From the sound of things that meant she had to get Mira to eat something.

Hilary dug around in her saddlebags for something, anything, that might whet Mira’s appetite. She had a lot of dried meat strips, which of course Noora had already provided in abundance. Then her fingers close around Bryz’s jar. She grinned, remembering what was inside it.

“What are you doing?” Amanda asked when Hilary crouched down beside a frozen and partly flayed caribou. The princess unscrewed the jar and picked up a broken long bone.

“Bringing Mira’s appetite back,” Hilary responded, “while simultaneously removing myself from the dinner options.”

She dipped the long bone into the honey and swirled it around twice before removing it. Now that the end was covered in a thick glob of viscous, near human-temperature honey Hilary stroked the bone along the exposed caribou. Once she slathered on a thick coat, carefully minding Bryz’a advice not to get any on herself, Hilary capped the jar and slowly backed away. If this worked she didn’t want to be in the way.

The effect was immediately palpable on Mira. From lying on her back with her paws over her snout the sea bear rolled over, sniffing and snorting. She rose with a grunt, dislodging Noora, and padded over to the caribou. She put her nose an inch above the honeyed carcass and excitedly sniffed it from end to end.

“What is this?” Mira asked. “What did you do? It smells good.”

“I covered it in honey,” Hilary explained. “It’s a food we get from bees. Bears love it and we do too.” She licked some of the excess honey off the bone to stress that last point. It also had the added benefit of showing the sea bears she hadn’t poisoned it, not that Hilary knew of any substance that could poison them. They had cast iron stomachs.

Mira needed no further prompting and fell upon the caribou with gusto. Hilary had to quickly turn away, as the sight of the sea bear eating the entire body made her ill. The frozen meat and bone didn’t slow her down in the slightest. It was far too easy to imagine the eat bear eating her instead and Hilary was more relieved than she ever could have imagined that wasn’t her current fate. When she finished licking up the last patches of honey from the ground Mira sat and let out an enormous foul smelling belch. She looked utterly satisfied.

“Are you going to finish that?” Noora asked. Hilary looked down to the honey covered bone in her hand. The Bear King was so interested she was all but nosing it out of her hand.

“Oh no,” Hilary said, holding the bone out to the sea bear. “You-You can have it.”

With surprising delicacy that Hilary would not have guessed the beast possessed, Noora gently bit the bone and tugged it out of Hilary’s hand. As soon as the human relinquished it a great blue tongue came out, wrapped around the long bone, and pulled it into the Bear King’s mouth. A moment later the sea bear swallowed without moving her jaw. It was equally impressive as it was unnerving.

“Hmm… I can taste why you like this,” Noora rumbled. “Not my preference, however if it returns Mira’s appetite it is worth having.”

“Well, if no one’s going to eat me at the moment, maybe we can discuss ending this unnatural winter,” Hilary suggested brightly. “What would it take for you to fix this?”

“Until my cubs are safely born I will not lift a paw to end this winter,” Noora growled. “The weather is fine, however frost beasts have appeared. They are a serious danger and I cannot ensure my family’s safety with this many of them in the area.”

“Then we’ll take you all back to my castle. Mira can give birth there and then you’ll end the winter. My court physician can even monitor the last stages of the pregnancy and help with the delivery.”

“Are you sure this is wise, Hilary?” Duggan asked.

“Sure, Bryz loves babies,” Hilary said. She held a hand out to Noora. “Do we have a deal?”

The Bear King let out a mighty rumble. Hilary suddenly felt very worried she would reject the offer by biting off her hand, but she held firm with her hand outstretched. She couldn’t back out now. Noora moved forward and bumped her wet nose against Hilary’s hand. The princess found herself gently petting the Bear King’s nose.

“That will be acceptable,” she agreed. “You have my word that once my cubs are safely born I will do everything in my power to restore Salmonland to its natural weather.”

“Salmonland?” Duggan asked quietly.

“That’s their term for Wisconsin,” Bozek whispered back.

Great! Let’s head home immediately. Any objections?” As no one had any Hilary summoned her fairy godmother. It would be quicker and faster to use magic and she didn’t think the humans had it in them to make a return trip by foot, or even sea bear if Noora allowed them to ride her.

“Hilary, you shouldn’t be impatient,” Julie said, nose still in a thick book when she appeared. “The griffins have barely begun looking through their card catalogue and… why is it so cold?”

“Because we’re not at home anymore?” Hilary offered.

Julie looked up from her book at that point. She looked at Hilary, then turned her head to the left and right, taking in her surroundings. Everyone stared at her. Noora and Mira seemed most interested in her, probably because sea bears didn’t have much to do with fairies, godmother or otherwise. When she had fully taken in the situation Julie refocused her attention on Hilary.

“I thought I told you to stay away from sea bears and to leave Amanda alone,” Julie said. She sneezed.

“You did,” Hilary agreed.

“Then why are you—” Julie broke off to sneeze several times in a row. “—in a cave with both of them?”

“You were taking too long to get back to me and you did say getting the original caster to reverse a spell was the easiest way to fix it,” Hilary explained. “And hey, Noora’s not gonna eat me so we’re good on that front too!”

“Spirits protect us if I ever think out loud around you again,” Julie said, covering her face with a hand. “Walking into a sea bear den is the opposite of being safe and responsible! Hilary, if her mood had been slightly different you would have been dead before you could have called for help and the same is true for your little friends!”

“I know,” Hilary said uncomfortably. “That’s why I wanted to go alone, but they wouldn’t let me.”

“The correct answer is not going at all!” Julie exploded.

“I couldn’t do nothing!” Hilary shouted back. “Amanda’s people are freezing to death and it’s my fault! I have to fix this before they’re all dead! The royal family is supposed to protect their people and if that means self-sacrifice, well, that’s part of the gig, Chuey.”

“What do you need from me?” Julie asked. She looked a bit like she was about to cry. Hilary hadn’t meant to upset her fairy godmother.

“We need to go home,” Hilary said promptly. “All six of us please, so Mira can give birth somewhere safe. Then Noora’ll fix this.”

“Okay,” Julie sighed. She pulled out her wand and paused to sneeze several times. “I hate the cold so much.”

The fairy godmother waved her wand several times as she muttered in a language Hilary didn’t understand. The rapid gestures hurled fairy glitter everywhere and then suddenly the princess was standing in the main courtyard at home. Amanda, Bozek, Duggan, Noora, Mira, and Julie were there too, much to the surprise of her courtiers. After a shocked silence the general populace realized there were sea bears in the courtyard and began panicking. Men and women started screaming and running in circles. A battalion of halberd wielding guards rushed into the courtyard. Recognizing danger Noora rose to her full height and bellowed. Several nearby stain glass windows shattered and a few courtiers fainted. Hilary ran to place herself between the guards and the sea bears. She was not about to let her guests be stuck like luau pigs.

“Stand down!” Hilary shouted at the top of her lungs in an attempt to be heard over the din. “These sea bears are under my protection! Lower your weapons!”

“You said this would be safe, Hilary,” Noora snarled.

“It is! I just need them to listen to me,” Hilary said, turning toward the Bear King to placate her.

Before Noora could turn her general hostility specifically against Hilary Julie stopped everyone. Hilary was one of the first to realize they had been paused as she tried to step away from the angry sea bear to avoid a paw swipe. She felt a moment of terror when she couldn’t step away, but that vanished the moment she realized Noora’s paw wasn’t coming any closer. The others must have quickly come to the same conclusion, but the princess imagined a wave of panic passed through them when they realized they couldn’t move. The fairy godmother drew everyone’s attention and released her charge so that Hilary could explain the situation.

As soon as the princess finished explaining why they were entertaining sea bears her fairy godmother released the rest of them. Hilary’s parents weren’t happy about their daughter’s guests, but they were nothing if not gracious. They placed the sea bears in a disused office on the first floor. The pillows were pulled off the couches and left on the floor, but the rest of the furniture was removed after Noora accidentally crushed the heavy oak desk when she leaned upon it. A lot more pillows and furs were also brought in to make the makeshift den more comfortable for the sea bears. The castle chamberlain wasn’t happy when Noora insisted the patio doors be open continually, but he gave in when the Bear King pointed out one of them would accidentally smash through them the first time she had to piss in the night. The tiny private garden just off the office quickly became their private toilet. 

All of this was settled before dinner that evening. Hilary’s people were incredibly efficient and even got together a proper seven course dinner for the sea bears. Hilary was expected to eat with her parents, the bears, and Amanda for dinner, but before that she wanted to consult Julie. She hoped her fairy godmother could do her one more major favor before leaving.

“Is there something else you need, Hilary?” Julie asked after she finished wiping her nose with an embroidered handkerchief Hilary made for her when she was seven. She had caught quite the cold up in Wisconsin and all this extra magic use seemed to make it worse. Maybe it was weakening her immune system. Hilary didn’t know, but it might be worth consulting Bryz about later.

“Yes, though it might not be something you can manage,” Hilary said. She quickly added, “and it’s perfectly okay if you can’t. I understand I’m about to ask a lot.”

“Why don’t you just tell me what it is, Hilary?” Julie asked, smiling. “If it’s something I’m willing and able to do, of course I’ll do it.”

“Can you put Amanda’s kingdom to sleep?” Hilary blurted out. “Like, a magical sleep where everyone and everything that isn’t dead yet can just magically sleep unharmed until the winter ends. There have been fairies who have done this sort of thing for much pettier reasons than saving lives and they did it on even larger populations. I know I’ve read about it. So is this maybe something you could do?”

“That’s all you want?” Julie asked after opening and closing her mouth several times without making a sound. “You want me to put an entire kingdom into a magical stasis where they won’t freeze or die from any other means. Nothing major, just an entire kingdom.”

“I said I figured you probably couldn’t do it,” Hilary said defensively. “Just thought it was worth asking if it could keep the death count down, you know?”

“No, I understand,” Julie sighed. She rubbed her nose and fluttered her wings. “There are some fairies who could do this, then transform all the kingdom’s mice into llamas, and still be ready for anything. I’m not one of them.”

“I understand.”

“No I don’t think you do. If this is what you really want me to do I will do it, but then I’ll be laid out for months. You won’t be able to call me for help if you get into trouble. This means that for the first time in your life, Hilary, you’ll truly be on your own.” Julie pulled out her wand and looked her charge squarely in the eye. “Is that what you genuinely want?”

Hilary closed her eyes and nodded. “Yeah,” she whispered.

Julie rose to her feet and raised her wand. She cleared her throat, then began her incantation:

“Wasted limb and tired form, bellies swollen from disuse,  
For citizens cold to the bone and find this all just a bit too much.  
Stow yourself safe away from frost or beast’s bite,  
Until this unnatural season ends sleep beyond winter’s touch”

Hilary felt a rush of magic surround her. Normally, she wasn’t that sensitive to magic, but Julie was working something powerful. The fairy godmother was even glowing all over, a phenomenon that was usually restricted to the tip of the wand during a spell. There were more stanzas to the spell and Hilary silently waited through them too. Suddenly the light left the room and there was a blinding flash from the north as Julie vehemently shouted a final word to finish the spell.

Breathing heavily Julie closed her eyes and bowed her head. She was several shades paler than before and covered in a light sheen of sweat. Her wings drooped and didn’t appear to be producing new glitter. Hilary reached out to her fairy godmother, she wanted to see how she was doing and maybe put her to bed with some hot soup, but Julie vanished before she could touch her. Hilary felt a cold lump settle in her stomach. She hoped she hadn’t just killed her fairy godmother. Julie always shielded her from the worst effects of her actions and today was no different. That might even explain Julie’s reluctance to act. Hilary regretted her decision, but didn’t dare try to summon her back to apologize. She wouldn’t be able to handle never seeing Julie again, especially if it was her fault.

Once she told the others what Julie had done waiting out Mira’s pregnancy wasn’t so bad. Wisconsin was essentially paused, which lessened the urgency. Amanda wanted her kingdom restored, and the frost beasts were still dangerous, but things were better. Bryz fainted the first time he met his new patient and refused to go anywhere near either sea bear. However, Mira’s kind heart and gentle manner eventually won him over. The wizard loved babies and quickly put Mira on a daily check up schedule to ensure the pregnancy progressed normally. He still wouldn’t go anywhere near the Bear King. After Bryz was okay with the sea bears the rest of the court relaxed. There were even brief moments where the women could forget all about this mess.

One of those moments occurred when the sea bears were beginning to smell especially pungent. Bryz announced that even if the stench wasn’t dangerous to the unborn cubs it was a health hazard to everyone else. As there weren’t a lot of places large enough in the castle to bathe one sea bear, much less two, Hilary decided to use the fountain in the Rose Garden. The Rose Garden was Hilary’s grandmother’s christening gift and it was filled with every variety of rose known in the land. Even today castle gardeners kept the place immaculate. In the center of the garden there was a massive marble fountain Hilary’s grandmother commissioned for her coronation. It featured a massive scene of ten swans soaring, each spraying water into the air. An eleventh swan appeared headless until the viewer realized a girl was wrestling a tunic over its head. The final statue was the upper half of a well-muscled man draped a wet tunic that clung to his chest tight enough to see his nipples. Both he and the girl had fountains sprinkling from their eyes. While Hilary was little she asked why the artists had bothered carving a shirt onto the fellow when they were just going to show everything through it. Her grandmother was very put out she hadn’t recognized the seminal scene in the Wild Swans fairy tale when the princess rescued her twelve brothers from swan curse with nettle tunics she wove herself. Hilary had always thought it an exceptionally ugly fountain.

Bathing them in the fountain was a challenge. The sea bears had never heard of soap, nor did they have opposable thumbs, and Hilary quickly found herself elected to rub shampoo into their fur. Mira suffered the indignity silently, but like usual Noora was a troublemaker. The first couple of times she knocked Hilary over were accidental, but after that it became a game. She was soaked and half drowned as Noora continued knocking her off her feet with solid nose pokes. However, Mira and Amanda were laughing too hard for Hilary to get mad. In the end Hilary got the last laugh because when Noora was finally clean she climbed out of the fountain and shook like a dog splattering Amanda and Mira with water. The only downside was that Hilary had hoped the sea bears would accidentally destroy the fountain and neither one left even a single claw mark on the marble.

The sea bears were not impressed by All Hallows Eve. They had a hard enough time telling the humans apart when they weren’t in disguises. Noora, alarmed by the presence of a goblin in her den, almost took off Hilary’s head. Mira confiscated the princess’s candy haul as punishment and let her mate eat it to settle her nerves. As further apology Hilary had to send along a bushel of apples to keep the sea bears from crunching on humans. Her All Hallows Eve would have been completely ruined, but late that evening Amanda joined her on the parapet. The queen pushed back her lion mask and dropped her candy sack between them. They leaned against each other silently long after the last piece of candy was eaten.

A few days after the candy incident Hilary awoke in the middle of the night to awful roaring. As the last time Noora had roared like that was burned forever into her memory Hilary leapt out of bed and sprinted to the sea bears’ room. She didn’t need her kingdom blanketed in eternal winter too. When she arrived Hilary found she wasn’t the only one summoned. Amanda, her parents, and a battalion of knights were already waiting.

She was no sea bear roar connoisseur, but now that Hilary was closer the bellows sounded more alarmed than enraged. They were also infinitely louder. It was difficult conveying her orders to ‘bring Bryz’ to the nearest knight. Though she had to wonder why the wizard wasn’t already here. He was probably too scared to deal with the sea bears. In the mean time she ought to do what she could to calm Noora down because whatever the problem was her shouting couldn’t possibly help.

However, when she went to go inside a couple of her family’s knights stopped her. Hilary tried to push past them, but they held firm, which was confusing and annoying. She asked why they wouldn’t let her pass, which caused the knights to just look down. She was ready to push her way through when her parents interceded. They explained she was being kept out on their orders because they didn’t want her harmed by a panicked sea bear. She was their only child and they loved her.

“You’re kidding me,” Hilary said. “They’re freaking out and probably in trouble, but you aren’t going to let me help? That’s cold.”

“That’s life, Hilary,” her father said. “You are too important to risk. The sea bears will be just fine without you.”

“But,” Hilary protested.

“I forbid it!”

She wanted to argue. She really wanted to, but when her father wanted to be that stubborn Hilary couldn’t do anything to oppose him. The knights would follow him, especially because they didn’t know Noora and Mira like she did. She backed away to lean against a pillar and everyone relaxed slightly. She didn’t like it, but she’d have to wait for Bryz. Amanda squeezed her shoulder, which was nice, but no comfort to the sea bears.

The physician arrived in a huff carrying his medical bag. Bryz visibly paled when he heard Noora’s roars, but he rolled up his sleeves and headed toward the door. Once he got there the wizard paused. He turned around and asked for a helper, someone to hand him tools as needed. Hilary opened her mouth to volunteer, but closed it again after a glare from her parents. Amanda gave her shoulder another squeeze, Hilary thought for comfort, and moved forward. The queen and wizard were already inside before the princess realized what she was up to. Hilary was furious her parents let Amanda go inside with Bryz. If it was too dangerous for Hilary, then it was too dangerous for Amanda.

Noora’s bellows stopped, but soon a much higher pitched cry began. Some of the noises were wails or even angry roars, but most were panicked cries. These were definitely Mira’s cries; her voice had a significantly different timber compared to Noora. The noise seemed like they would never end. It was something of an irritant for the princess. Hilary thought she’d shatter a tooth from grinding them for such an extended period. She didn’t care what her family might do, she was busting in there if she heard a single human scream.

Eventually Hilary realized a silence had fallen. She had tuned out her surroundings in an attempt to keep her sanity and missed the end of the roars. Looking around Hilary noticed no one else had moved, which meant it probably hadn’t been that long. She straightened and took an expectant step forward when the door opened. It was Amanda. She was completely soaked in viscous goo and Hilary could see blood, but the blonde was smiling.

“It’s all good,” Amanda said as the princess rushed to her side. “Mira gave birth to two healthy cubs. It was just a lot more stressful than she had expected doing it out of water and without her clan. Messier too.”

“But you’re okay?” Hilary asked. She wiped her friend’s face off with a handkerchief. Amanda laughed and squeezed some of the gunk out of her hair.

“I’m fine, really,” Amanda reassured her. “It was just a lot more involved than I was expecting. Worth it though. I’m glad I was able to help. Do you want to see the cubs?”

Hilary was in the room before her father could voice his objections. The room had a strong odor, a bit salty and like dying seal, but was far cleaner than expected. This was especially true of the floor near Mira, who was sprawled across the tile with her head propped up on a pillow. Noora stood next to her nosing something in her mate’s paws. Hilary stepped closer to see what she was doing. The Bear King gently licked a pair of white puffballs.

“Is Mira feeding her something?” Hilary whispered.

“No, don’t let her hear you say that,” Amanda hissed. She turned Hilary’s head a bit and pointed. One of the puffballs rolled and hit Noora’s nose with the tiniest of paws. Mira snorted in amusement. “She’s cleaning their cubs.”

“Ah Hilary. Here for the cubs?” Bryz asked, walking up to them. He wiped his hands on his trousers. “They are cute. Troublemakers, but cute.”

“What?” Hilary asked, turning to her wizard. These cubs were minutes old. How could they possibly be troublemakers?

“Born troublemakers,” Bryz insisted. He patted Hilary on the shoulder. “Goodnight, princess. I have to clean my tools. The cheeky one delivered herself right into my bag.” He rattled his bag, which made an unpleasant squelching swoosh, to highlight this point. The wizard shook his head and wandered out of the room grumbling to himself.

“The cheeky one?”

“One of the cubs wiggled out of his hands when she was still slick with fluids and landed in his tool kit,” Amanda explained. “Noora was very alarmed at this and I had to dig her out for her. Mira said she gave birth to twin girls.”

“Guess we should congratulate them.”

The women approached the sea bears at a leisurely pace. They were their friends, but they were also overprotective new parents and neither Hilary nor Amanda wanted to alarm them. When the women got about five feet away they stopped. This was close enough to get a good look at the cubs, but still a respectful distance away. Mira or Noora could invite them closer if they wished.

“Those are some fine looking cubs there,” Hilary began. “Amanda says you said they were both girls?”

“Our daughters,” Mira confirmed. Noora rumbled agreeably.

“Is there anything else you need? We want you as comfortable as possible while you recover.”

“We are good, Hilary. Thank you.”

“What did you name them?” Amanda asked. “I mean, if you’ve already decided upon that. I’m just curious.”

“No, we have made our decision,” Noora replied. She nuzzled her mate’s cheek. “Do you want to tell them or should I?”

“This is Jocelyne,” Mira said, shaking the paw with the cub looking eagerly out at them. The other cub was curled up in a ball and looked half asleep. “And this little one is Monique.”

“Cute,” Hilary said, though she wasn’t that interested in newborns. Amanda apparently was because she kneeled down beside Mira to chat about and pet the cubs. The princess grabbed the Bear King’s ear and gently towed her away from her family.

“Yes Hilary?” Noora asked.

“Look, I don’t mean to rush you, but now that you have two beautiful healthy cubs, do you think you could end Wisconsin’s winter?” Hilary asked. “The four of you are welcome guests as long as you’d like, but Amanda would appreciate her kingdom back.”

“Yes, of course, I did promise,” Noora agreed. They stood there for a minute doing nothing before Hilary gave her a sharp look. The Bear King snorted. “What? Why do you think I know how to end this?”

“You started it!”

“Yes, in a burst of anger. The blizzard would have died out months ago if it was only fueled by my rage. Something else is prolonging Salmonland’s eternal winter now.”

“I can’t believe this. You lied to me!”

“Is something wrong?” Mira asked, looking up from the cubs. Amanda looked up too, protectively pulling Jocelyn a little closer to her chest as Hilary and Noora looked back.

“Everything is fine, seal rump,” Noora promised, rumbling reassuringly. When they looked away the sea bear glared at the princess. “I would appreciate you not upsetting my mate.”

“I’ll do a lot more than upset your mate,” Hilary hissed.

“You will not. I gave my word to help fix this and I will. The frost beasts are the likely culprits behind the eternal winter. They are magical beings whose mere presence perpetuates ice and snow.”

“How did they even get here? They’re monsters out of legend. I’d never even heard of one on this continent before this mess started.”

“Like sea bears they are native to the Arctic Shelf, a natural land of ice to the north. Frost beasts cannot swim, so they were trapped there… at least until my rage gave them an ice bridge for passage.” If Hilary hadn’t been furious she’d have been amused by the sheepish look on the Bear King’s face. It was clear she felt embarrassed about the entire situation.

“How do we get rid of them? Fire? Swords don’t work and they’re great about reforming themselves. Do you make another ice bridge and we drive them back across it?”

“No, it is not that simple to rid yourself of frost beasts,” Noora rumbled, shaking her head. “Miss one and the problem restarts itself. No… what we must do is force the Frost Titan to remove them. As their creator the Frost Titan is the only being who can remove all the frost beasts from Salmonland and end this winter.”

“Great. How will you do that?”

“We, Hilary, will journey to the Frost Titan’s ice palace, which is located on the edge of the Arctic Shelf surrounded by the Plain of the Damned. Once we reach ice palace we will beat the Frost Titan into submission and force a total removal of frost beasts from Salmonland.”

“I am not going anywhere near a place called Plain of the Damned.”

“You will because you gave me your life,” Noora growled, “and I intend to use it for the safe return of my family once this situation is resolved.”

“My people wouldn’t hurt your family!”

“Correct, because you are my hostage, Hilary.” Noora briefly bared her teeth, but the princess could tell her heart wasn’t really in it. “I have seen too many sea bears burned to death by humans offering friendship to leave my family’s safety to a promise. I trust you, Hilary, but I do not trust your people. Not without insurance.”

“I-I see,” Hilary said. She couldn’t really argue Noora’s point. She had heard a lot of her people wistfully discussing how to kill off the visiting sea bears for weeks. Even if the court had learned to tolerate Noora and Mira that didn’t mean they liked them. There was fear and hate on both sides.

“Worry not, Hilary, for we will not go alone. My clan will come with us and they will ensure that even if I fall in battle you will be returned alive. Mira and the cubs are too important not to accomplish that.”

“Because she’s got your heirs?”

“No, because they are clan. Family. Our ruler is decided by might of tooth and claw, not one’s loins, as is the human fashion.”

Hilary blushed and looked away from Noora. She didn’t particularly like to think about her father’s loins ever. Much less in the context of how she would eventually inherit his throne. Hilary watched Amanda play with the cubs for a minute. She wondered if she’d find the scene more adorable if the cubs were human babies. Probably not. Jocelyn and Monique had yet to wail, puke, or poop, and their fluffy fur was far cuter than wrinkled baby fat. Maybe it would be different if Amanda was playing with Hilary’s children, not that that would ever happen now.

“Okay,” she said softly, “when do we leave?”

As expected, every human in the castle was against Noora taking Hilary to the Arctic Shelf. Hilary’s parents were ready to declare war on the sea bears until Bryz pointed out that starting a war with a species of death tanks as an eternal magical winter encroached their northern border wasn’t the best of plans. She rapidly lost count of how many times she had to explain why she needed to go too. Now it was more than a matter of keeping her promise or being a bargaining chip. She was going on an adventure to save Amanda’s kingdom. Surely she’d grow a little as a person and have some fun. What Hilary didn’t understand was Amanda’s opposition to her making this trip. She was more against it than anyone else, which made no sense to the princess.

“Don’t you want your kingdom back?” Hilary demanded. “I thought you loved Wisconsin.”

“I do! Wisconsin’s the best,” Amanda snapped. “The issue is that this quest is a folly and all that will happen is you’ll wind up dead!”

“That’s what you said about meeting Noora again and look how well that turned out!”

“Yeah, she’s taking you to an icy grave!”

“Noora promised to return me in one piece.”

“One piece doesn’t ensure you’ll still be alive! You can be whole and dead at the same time!”

“What do you even care if I come back at all? I’m the person who fucked up your kingdom, remember?”

“I sure as hell do!”

“Then why are you making such a fuss as I try to fix it? It’s not like you like me or something. You already made that abundantly clear.”

“Hilary, you are impossible,” Amanda snarled, face bright red. She whirled around, smacking Hilary in the face with her hair, and stormed into her quarters. Hilary flinched as the door slammed shut and the lock bolted into place. Amanda was going to sulk until after Hilary left. That was fine with her. It would make leaving easier.

A group of knights led by Sir. Duggan insisted they would follow the princess anywhere, but Noora put her paw down against it. She explained in no uncertain terms that she could protect Hilary, but any more humans would be a detriment to her safety. Unless they wanted to act as an immediate food supply for the short period they were in Wisconsin before reaching the ocean they would only trouble them. No, the best thing they could do was properly provision their princess.

Bryz came to Hilary’s aid again. He was not happy she was going off with a sea bear, but realized after the initial announcement that there was nothing he could do to stop her. However, Bryz also knew how ill equipped she had been on her last winter exploration. The princess would freeze to death long before finished the mission if he couldn’t come up with something better. He’d do everything in his power to make her come back safely, so he ordered her to report to his workshop in three days’ time. Hilary figured it was worth the wait to see if the wizard could help.

“Did something blow up?” Hilary asked, looking around the room. It was a valid question. All of the cupboards and drawers were wide open with odds and ends of every sort strewn across every available surface. That wouldn’t be so unusual, but Bryz kept scurrying from pile to pile throwing things in the air behind him as he discarded each object. Hilary had to duck to avoid something that looked suspiciously like a lizard’s arm and found herself staring into jars of preserved animals. One jar was full of pickled newt eyes and another held a unicorn fetus. Spotting the fetus made her quickly backed away from the table. She moved to Bryz’s side and peered over his shoulder to see what he was digging for as the wizard had yet to acknowledge her.

“Found anything for me yet?” Hilary asked. She grabbed his shoulder, “Bryz?”

“Yaa!” Bryz yelped, pelting her with a mummified rooster. When he realized it was Hilary he stopped the attack. “Oh, princess.”

“Who did you think it was?” Hilary asked sourly. “You asked me to come.”

“Sorry, I thought you were the chameleon. Even if the corpse turned invisible I should have stumbled across it by now. A dead twelve foot lizard is hard not to find, even invisible,” Bryz explained, “therefore it lives.”

“Is this something we need to worry about? Is it dangerous? Do the knights need to hunt it?”

“No, no big chameleons are mostly herbaceous. This one simply wants revenge,” Bryz explained serenely. “Normally they are harmless unless you are a banana tree.”

“Okay, but you said this one wants revenge against you. Do I need to worry about that?”

“No no, she is just mad because I thought my colleague sent me a dead specimen, not a live one. Some bananas and potatoes will calm her. “Bryz looked around the room. “Now where is the bag I found?”

Hilary looked around. She spotted a thick greasy leather satchel hanging off the back of the door. It was slick to the touch and Bryz laughed when he saw it in her hands. With a sweep of his arm the wizard knocked all his odds and ends off a countertop and carefully put the bag in their place.

“These are for your arctic adventure,” he said, opening the bag. “Even in the worst cold this bag will not crack or break and it is light. Light like goose feather, yes?”

Hilary had to admit it was lighter than it looked, especially when the wizard opened it to reveal it was stuffed to the brim. Most of its contents appeared to be food: bread, cheese, and dried fruit. At first Hilary wondered why there wasn’t any meat until she realized Noora could provide that for her. Sea bears were highly efficient at that. However, the bag contained more than just food. Bryz was happy to explain the rest.

“The Arctic Shelf will either be blinding light or complete darkness,” Bryz began, picking up two items. One was a black pair of spectacles and the other a blue crystal the size of her fist on a leather thong. “You will be prepared for both. Try them.”

Hilary put on the spectacles. Everything in the room went dark. After a moment she could make out faint outlines, but it was still extremely dark. She took them off. When she picked up the crystal it began glowing. Hilary soon determined how to increase or decrease the light output. As soon as she understood the premise Bryz put them away and handed her a different item. This was a water bladder.

“It’s a water bladder, what’s so special?” Hilary asked.

“This makes water hot. Try it,” Bryz said, holding it out. Hilary took a hesitant swig and almost burned her tongue. “It melts ice and snow. Very useful.”

“That’s great, Bryz, I’ll be able to see and stay well fed, but neither of those matter if I freeze to death within the first few minutes.”

“Ack,” Bryz growled, throwing up his hands. “That is why I am looking for my selkie skin. It would mold to your skin, keeping you warm and dry. Selkies go up there, you know.”

“Wouldn’t that make me seal-like? You told me not to be seal-like.”

“Yes, yes,” Bryz agreed. “But you are not a selkie, Hilary. You will not turn into a seal. Noora knows you well enough now she hopefully will not be bamboozled by the alluring seal scent and smell your human stink underneath.”

“Gee thanks.”

“Sea bears find human stink tasty too, Hilary, but Noora knows you. Your safety relies on her remembering you. I do not like that, but I cannot change it.”

“I’ll be okay, Bryz,” Hilary promised. “At least, I will if you can find this skin. It sounds like that’ll do the trick.”

“I hope I can find it,” Bryz sighed. “It was my grandmother’s skin first. It is… upsetting I cannot lay my hands upon it.” He gazed mournfully around the workshop. Hilary didn’t know what to say to make him feel better, but luckily the wizard snapped out of it. He explained the rest of her new tools and promised to find the skin soon; otherwise they’d have to try waterproofing his yeti hide.

As neither Julie nor Amanda were available for advice and everyone else refused to help with this expedition, Hilary decided to talk with Mira. She found the sea bear lounging in one of the lesser-used gardens. Looking around she realized they were alone. This was a surprise. She didn’t think she had ever seen Mira alone before.

“Where’s Noora and the cubs?” she asked.

“Noora is swimming laps in the moat. Says she needs to get back in shape for the swim home,” Mira said. “As for our cubs, they are sleeping nearby.”

“I see,” Hilary said, sitting down beside the sea bear. “Can I get some advice?”

“Certainly.”

“Bryz wants to stick me in his grandmother’s selkie skin for this trip north.”

“That is a good idea. Selkie fur is almost as good at retaining heat as my fur and it is more aerodynamic underwater. Selkies are much harder to catch and eat than your average seal. Of course, they are also easier to skin than the average seal; the fur just peels right off.”

“I did not need to know that,” Hilary said. While she didn’t know any selkies personally, it was close enough to listening to Mira describe what it was like to eat human that she didn’t want any details.

“My apologies. This conversation simply reminded me that Noora harvested a selkie fur right after I told her I was pregnant. Normally she would have eaten it too, but she wanted it to be a present so that I could more easily carry the cubs. Newborns have a hard time matching an adult’s pace. I wish us to go home as soon as possible because cubs need to be fully acclimated to our home before their baby teeth fall out. It is essential if they are to be successful adults.”

“Do you need to carry them in a selkie fur?” Hilary asked. “Because we can provide you with other furs, like we did for your bedding, or even bags, which would allow you to keep your mouth free. The whole opposable thumb thing means we have a lot to offer when we aren’t being eaten.”

“I will accept trading my selkie fur for a bag if it means we will return home sooner.”

“Thank you. I know it was a gift to your children, but Bryz can’t find his and even if he did I’d hate to accept it. It was his grandmother’s skin. From the way he said that I think he meant she grew it herself.”

“That would explain his behavior around us. Bryz is an incredibly brave man if he is part selkie; they have an innate terror of us.”

“I can’t imagine why,” Hilary said dryly.

“I will give you the fur after the twins finish their nap,” Mira promised. “While you two are on your quest to fix Salmonland we will eat. A thick fat layer is the only defense against swimming in the cold and I would like to build that up in the cubs as soon as possible.”

Hilary waited patiently with Mira in near silence until the cubs awoke. Turned out Mira stashed them under a mulberry bush. Hilary got a little scratched getting the fur out after they vacated it, but soon she held a full sized selkie fur. She took it straight to Bryz, who was able to confirm that it was indeed from a selkie and helped her into the skin. Once she understood how the fur attached itself it was like wearing a second skin, which technically Hilary was. She thought she looked more like a yeti than a selkie, as she hadn’t transformed into a seal, but a quick dip in the moat to catch up with Noora proved it was as good as Bryz promised. Noora was pleased to see Hilary properly dressed and commented on the fact that she had even managed to smell like a sea bear, though perhaps a bit like one who had eaten too much seal. They set off as soon as Noora nuzzled her family goodbye.

Hilary didn’t have the speed or endurance to keep up with Noora. The princess was nearly left behind before the journey started. This would have suited her family fine, but Hilary was not to be deterred. Maybe she should have thought a little more before fisting clumps of white fur in her hands and using it to lever herself onto Noora’s back, but Hilary had never been one to think before acting. At least the sea bear seemed willing to let her ride. It was exciting to ride up this high and Noora quickly outstripped any horse Hilary had ever ridden. She could easily get used to this.

They reached the seasonal border long before the territorial one. The frost beasts had greatly extended their reach over the last couple of months. Hilary couldn’t imagine how bad things would get after natural winter set in, they had less than a month to fix things before that happened. Most of her knights would have to venture north to halt the encroachment if they could and Hilary didn’t know if Julie’s spell would expand with the winter. She hoped it would. The only benefit of reaching the ice and snow was that Noora seemed more comfortable. The sea bear, who had already been making considerable progress, significantly increased her pace.

Hilary didn’t even get off Noora’s back during the day and a half run through Wisconsin. The princess was impressed by Noora’s refusal to stop as she tore her way through the countryside. The frost beasts were incredibly thick, continually mobbing them, but The Bear King just charged her way through them, relying on her speed and thick coat to act as protection. The human’s best defense was to remain where she was astride the sea bear out of harm’s reach. Better to leave a mess on the sea bear’s back than become a bloody one underfoot.

When they reached Green Bay Hilary barely had time to suck in air before Noora dived underwater. Even with the selkie fur the cold was such a shock to the human she exhaled most of her lungful and nearly gasped in water. She buried her face in Noora’s neck fur to try and help keep her mouth shut and stay attached to the sea bear. The water they were rushing through had an unfortunate tendency toward separating the pair of them the more Hilary tried to ride like she had on land, which was another reason to choose a more aerodynamic positioning. Quickly however, Hilary realized she was out of air. The sea bear showed no intention of surfacing. She yanked on Noora’s fur and kicked her sides as best as she could, but before receiving any sign the Bear King had realized she was in distress Hilary blacked out.

When she came to it she felt uncomfortably crushed, but at least she was warm. Hilary tried to roll over, but when she couldn’t move in the slightest. That panicked her enough to open her eyes instead of going back to sleep like her body wanted. She couldn’t see much, whatever it was had planted itself right on top of her, but it did seem furry.

“Noora?” she croaked.

“Finally awake?” Noora asked. “I thought you were going to sleep all day.”

“How long have I been out?” she asked as the sea bear rose. The moment the weight was off her Hilary pulled herself out, though she did lean against Noora’s arm. She sat there in a daze wishing for water until she remembered there was some in her bag.

“Most of the night.”

The bag was still somehow attached to Hilary. She suspected Bryz had spelled it so that it’d be hard to lose. That certainly made the most sense to her considering how essential everything in that bag was to her survival. However, when she lifted the bag to put it in her lap her chest protested this action so much she cried out in pain.

“Are you alright? When I first fished you out you were not breathing last night, but a few hits to the chest changed that. Did I do something wrong? Should I not have kept you under my belly? I thought you would freeze otherwise.”

“No, if you got me breathing again you did everything right,” Hilary said, reaching up and scratching the sea bear’s chin. “Think you just bruised me a bit. I’ll be fine.”

Hilary dug around in her bag for her water bladder and drank greedily. When she felt a little more human the princess had a bite to eat while the sea bear explained what had happened. After she realized Hilary was in distress, Noora carried her to the surface and made an ice float for them so that she could examine her. A few paw smacks to the chest knocked the water out of the human and got her breathing again, so Noora settled down on top of her for a bit of shut eye. She figured they could both use the sleep. Now that they were safely away from the mass of frost beasts, the Bear King planned to swim along the surface for most of the way north to the Arctic Shelf. It would be better for Hilary that way. If they ran into a wyrm of any sort or an orca pod they would have to take defensive action. However, barring any major detours they would reach the edge of the Arctic Shelf no worse for wear.

While they were still in fairly safe waters, Noora couldn’t smell any dangers in the immediate vicinity, it seemed like the last best chance the Bear King had to hunt without drowning Hilary. Noora planned to fast until they met up with her clan on the Arctic Shelf. Alone Hilary would just be too exposed. Before the princess could even protest, the sea bear slipped off the ice float into the ocean without making a sound. While she was confident Noora planned on coming back for her—there were easier ways to kill her if that was her intent—Hilary did not like being left alone in this situation. Noora might be wrong about other predators being around or she might lose track of the princess’s location. Sea bears were known for being able to track prey over vast distances, but she didn’t know if that was all boasting.

Hilary didn’t know how long she waited on that ice float before Noora returned. Time seemed rather meaningless here and she kept wondering about all her life choices that led to her being stuck here. She wondered what Amanda was up to, if she was wondering about her too and if she was at all worried about Hilary’s situation. Before she could muse about her actions for the ninth or tenth time Noora returned with a massive dead seal in her jaws.

She dropped the seal on the ice float and it slid until it bumped into Hilary. The princess inched away from the seal corpse as best she could, but there wasn’t anywhere she could go to get away from it. The sea bear hurled herself onto the ice float then, almost knocking Hilary into the water and bit off a large chunk. She had seen Noora eat a lot of meals now, but it hadn’t gotten any easier for her to stomach. She quickly turned away to stare out at the horizon.

“Do you want any?” Noora asked.

“I’m good,” Hilary immediately responded. “I don’t think I’m ready for meat just yet. There… isn’t a good way to cook it here.”

“Suit yourself,” Noora shrugged. 

She finished off the last of the seal then they resumed their journey, this timed pointed straight north. Hilary was incredibly grateful she had Noora to ride on because there was no way she could have swum and the water was too hazardous to navigate even by boat. Again, time wasn’t something she had a good grasp upon here, especially after the sun set and never rose again—Hilary had been using her magic crystal continuously since then—but Noora must have swum for almost a week straight multiple times before they finally reached the Arctic Shelf. At least, the sea bear announced they were on the Arctic Shelf, Hilary couldn’t tell one ice mass from another. Just that everything was forever cold and dark these days. Noora was the only reason she had yet to freeze to death; the princess slept in her armpit whenever they stopped to rest.

While there hadn’t been the biting wind when they were in the water Hilary was happy to have her fur dry again. She didn’t need to be incased in ice. Noora was quite tired after her long swim and fast. Sure, she had caught a few fish for the both of them along the way, but while a salmon filled up the human, the sea bear had to eat dozens to reach the same effect. However, she didn’t dare leave Hilary alone to hunt. There were too many random sea bears around who would find human wrapped in selkie fur to be delicious treat.

Hilary couldn’t wait until they met up with Noora’s clan. Not that the princess was that interested in making the acquaintance of more sea bears, but she was worried about the Bear King. It had been too long since she had last eaten. In this environment Hilary was constantly hungry or too cold to eat. While her multilayered coat the sea bear didn’t have that second problem. Noora’s fat stores must be tapped by now and Hilary was worried about her performance if they ran into trouble. Since they made landfall the sea bear had been moving at a slow enough pace Hilary could keep up on foot and they had been resting a lot more. Perhaps it was just because they no longer needed to fear drowning. Hilary liked to pretend that was the only reason. She was really hoped they didn’t run into any sea bears gunning for Noora’s crown.

They had just hunkered down in a snow bank for a rest when Noora shot back to her feet. She sniffed wildly, nostrils flaring, as the massive head rotated left and right. Hilary assumed this meant trouble and pulled herself together. The Bear King shifted her weight to her hind legs and rose to her full stature. She let out such a loud bellow it knocked Hilary off her feet. It had to be magically enhanced; the sound blasted forth in all directions.

Perhaps it was just her imagination, but Hilary thought the roar had an immediate effect. While they had mostly relied on Noora’s nose for navigation—using Hilary’s light crystal continually would draw trouble to them like moths to a flame—it was clear out now, allowing the stars to be out in full force illuminating the Arctic Shelf. There was even most of a moon shining, which is how Hilary thought she saw movement in the distance. When Noora homed in on the same point she knew she was right. They waited in quiet anticipation for whatever it was to draw near. She didn’t have a clue what it was; everything was too white for distinctness to be determined here.

The movement had to get a lost closer before Hilary realized it was a group of sea bears. There were enough of them it had to be an entire clan. She looked to Noora, who was still alert and at attention. That meant this probably wasn’t her clan. Hilary laid her hand on her sword. She hoped they’d react more to being stabbed than Noora did.

Without warning Noora charged the foremost sea bear. Though the other sea bear was clearly smaller the beast rose up upon its hind legs and smacked a paw hard enough against the Bear King’s face to divert her course. Noora growled in pain. Hilary drew her sword, charging forward to help. The Bear King knocked the smaller sea bear to the ground with a swipe of her paw and sat on the other sea bear’s belly.

“Put that away before you hurt someone!” Noora thundered when she saw Hilary. This startled the princess into halting, but she did not sheath her blade.

“But aren’t we under attack?” Hilary asked.

“No, this is my clan,” Noora growled. “This is how friendly sea bears greet each other.”

“I’ve never seen you strike Mira like that,” Hilary retorted, putting her sword away. Noora seemed to puff up at that.

“Do you greet your mate the same as the rest of your family or your friends?”

“Noora, where is Mira?” asked the sea bear under her. She sounded like another lady sea bear. “And why do you have a human?”

“Princess Hilary is under my protection, Jenni,” Noora rumbled. “Mira is staying with Hilary’s clan south of Salmonland. She gave birth to healthy cubs there after our trade negotiations broke down.”

A murmur went through the group at this. Noora shook her head and got off Jenni. As soon as the smaller sea bear was free she butted her head against Noora’s shoulder. Several other sea bears repeated this gesture, which caused the Bear King to calm down. With a start Hilary realized the clan was teasing Noora.

“Did you lose your temper again?” Jenni asked. Noora made a frustrated noise and Jenni patted her on the shoulder. “One day your impatience will be the death of you.”

“It has served me well so far,” Noora grumbled petulantly. Jenni shook her head as Hilary tried not to snicker. Even if she failed her quest the trip was worth it to see Noora, King of the Sea Bears, scolded like an unruly cub.

“What damage did you cause?”

“I accidentally allowed frost beasts to reach Salmonland. Now it has succumbed to unnatural winter.”

“Oh Noora!”

“This is not all my fault,” Noora protested. She pointed a claw at Hilary. “She stabbed me! Many times!”

“You can handle a little stabbing, you overgrown cub!”

“I held my temper until she threatened Mira.”

Hilary hadn’t realized how easy it was to tell the difference between a good-tempered sea bear and an ill tempered one until she saw the shift in person. One moment Jenni had been ribbing Noora and the next she was snarling at Hilary. The rest of the clan had a similar expression on their faces. The princess didn’t know if the protectiveness was due to the fact Mira had been pregnant or her gentle nature, but Hilary did not want them irked at her any longer than necessary.

“No one threatens my sister!” a young sea bear howled, pushing her way through the crowd. She was small for a sea bear, but small was a relative term as she still had two hundred pounds on Hilary. The moment the sea bear charged her Hilary drew her sword again. She really didn’t want to have to behead the cub, but even a sea bear that size could easily kill her.

Before girl and sea bear could clash Noora whacked the cub into a snow bank. It was almost comical watching the small sea bear’s hind legs flail helplessly. The Bear King turned to glower at Hilary. She quickly put her sword away. Noora snorted and turned her attention back to the cub, which gave Hilary the feeling that if she pulled her weapon again without permission she would lose it.

“Hilary is under my protection,” Noora growled. “Do not make me remind you again, Shyler.”

“But why?” Shyler wailed. “She threatened Mira! I’m not a stupid cub anymore, Noora, I can take on a human!”

“Shyler, I know you are no longer a cub,” Noora crooned.

She grabbed her by the scruff of her neck and pulled her out of the snow bank. Shyler tried to get away, but the Bear King put her in a headlock and furiously licked her face until she stopped struggling. Hilary was suddenly very grateful both she and Amanda were only children. The invisible friend Amanda had as a child, which she said was her older brother Blake, didn’t count.

“I never meant to threaten her,” Hilary said softly, aware the entire clan was listening to her. “I didn’t even realize she was there until Noora freaked. I would never intentionally threaten a pregnant lady. I have more honor than that.”

“Hilary has made up for her transgression,” Noora added. “It is thanks to her Mira safely gave birth. We were besieged by frost beasts and she gave us refuge. Now she wishes to assist me in restoring Salmonland to its previous state. Until we complete this task Mira and the cubs will stay with Hilary’s clan, which is why it is of utmost importance Hilary remains unharmed.”

“I understand,” Jenni growled.

“Noora says the only way to fix Wisconsin is to go beat up the Frost Titan,” Hilary said.

“I want a complement to come with us,” Noora rumbled. “Strictly volunteer.”

Most of the sea bears were lounging on the ice after greeting the Bear King, but every single sea bear not only stood up, but took to their hind legs. Even the littlest of cubs tried to mimic their mothers, though they overextended themselves and fell down. Hilary had a sense this was how sea bears showed their support, either for volunteering or decision-making. They seemed to be a more egalitarian society than her own.

“I will only accept adult bears without cubs for this journey. Neglecting one’s cubs in the pursuit of glory is not honorable in the slightest,” Noora announced.

All of the adults with cubs nearby dropped to all fours. Noora placed a few more restrictions upon the sea bears to ensure the clan would be fine even if the entire group was lost and parsed the pool down to ten bears. This included Jenni and Shyler, neither of which seemed to please Noora.

“Jenni, I would prefer you keep an eye on the clan,” she growled.

“And I would prefer to keep an eye on you. Tuukka will keep the clan in line,” Jenni retorted. A male sea bear with a massive neck bowed his head to them. Noora snorted.

“Shyler, you know you are really too young for this journey,” Noora began as she placed a large pawn on the young sea bear’s head. “I cannot ensure your safety.”

“You don’t have to!” Shyler protested.

“Shyler.”

“Noora, I’ve lost all my milk teeth.”

“I know, but—”

“But nothing! I’m old enough to seek my own glory and the most honorable way to do that would be to follow you, Bear King. You weren’t much older than me when you battled the old Bear King!”

“That was the most foolhardy thing Noora has ever done!” Jenni interjected. “She won by the skin of her teeth and that was only due to her weight and size. You have neither, Shyler.”

“I won’t get any bigger. I haven’t grown since Noora and Mira left for Salmonland. I am an adult bear at my full size. Mira refused to have cubs with you until she felt I was old enough to be on my own. Let me help bring her home, Noora. To refuse me this is to dishonor me.”

“Alright, Shyler, you may come,” Noora conceded. She rubbed her paw against Shyler’s head one more time. “Then I leave you with the most important task, keep Hilary safe. If the rest of us fall to the frost beasts you are the one who will return Hilary to her kingdom, even if it means leaving us to die.”

“No!” Shyler yelped. “I can’t leave you in battle!”

“You can and you will!” Noora snarled. Shyler flinched away, but she wasn’t the only sea bear to do so. “We are going to right a wrong I had a paw in creating. I refuse to allow my error to cost me my family. You want to bring Mira home and the only way to do that is to ransom Hilary for their safe release. Is that understood?”

“Yes, Bear King,” Shyler whispered, bowing her head.

“Well, now that that’s all settled, I think Noora should eat something,” Hilary said, trying to lighten the mood. “She hasn’t hunted since we started swimming north.”

At this revelation the sea bears clustered around their king and gently prodded her. As they examined her they made disappointed noises that sounded a lot like Hilary’s mother did when the princess came in wet and muddy. Noora was declared too skinny even though she still weighed more than six times Hilary’s weight. Jenni went as far as to head butt Noora’s rump in an effort to get her moving. This just made her grumble, but when one of the volunteer sea bears offered to go fetch a seal for her Noora was up and snarling. She even took a swipe at the other sea bear, though the sea bear didn’t seem to mind, before warning the clan to keep Hilary safe one more time.

“We know! Now go eat!” Jenni growled. The Bear King looked at the princess one more time then disappeared under the waves. Once she was gone Jenni turned to the sea bear who had offered to hunt for Noora. “That was mean, Tea.”

“But effective,” Tea snickered. “You know this was the fastest way to make her go eat.”

The sea bears all chuckled as if they were used to directing their leader’s actions like this. Hilary had a feeling Noora would be furious if she realized they could easily manipulate her like this. Any ruler would be angered to find out their subjects directed even some of their actions. Suddenly Hilary wondered how much of an effect Duggan and her other subjects had on her choices. Probably not as much as they’d like considering how often she left them exasperated.

While they waited for Noora to return Hilary observed the sea bear clan. They were surprisingly disinterested in her, much more interested in playing with each other. Even the littlest of cubs, which were still a lot bigger than Monique and Jocelyn, were ignoring her and Hilary was certain they had never seen a human before. She thought sea bears were curious animals. She must have said something out loud because Jenni decided to explain.

“They think you are a seal. A talking seal, but a seal nonetheless,” Jenni explained. “Considering how you look and smell it does not surprise me. If you are food, then you are worth eating, but Noora has banned eating you so they have no interest.”

“Gee, that makes me feel appreciated,” Hilary grumbled.

“It is not personal, Hilary. Until we build up our fat stores and our rapid cub growth ends food is all we care about. Some sea bears never fully outgrow this.”

Hilary didn’t know what to say to this. Jenni certainly seemed like a wise sea bear. She could understand why Noora liked to leave the clan in her paws when she was gone. Jenni stayed near Hilary, keeping an eye on her, until a dispute among three younger male bears drew her away. Now that she was basically on her own Hilary decided to have a little break. Figuring that if an entire clan of sea bears couldn’t keep her safe nothing would, Hilary got out her light crystal. Darkness didn’t bother her, but she felt more cheery with it lit up. She missed the sun. She got out some of her dried fruit for a light meal.

“How are you doing that?”

Hilary turned grinning. Finally someone was interested in her and not for how she tasted. It took her a moment to place which sea bear it was—she wasn’t about to say they all looked the same, but they were different enough from humans she was still learning how to tell them apart—then greeted her by name.

“Just a bit of magic, Shyler,” Hilary laughed. “Though I had to admit I don’t need magic to use it. My court wizard, Bryz, gave it to me specifically because I’m not a mage. Wanna try it?”

Shyler eagerly came forward and almost knocked Hilary over trying to get to the crystal. The gem went out. Shyler nosed it a few times, but it stayed dark. The princess frowned. Bryz hadn’t said anything to suggest sea bears couldn’t use it. She took it back and concentrated, which caused it to glow blue like usual. Shyler was unhappy, but didn’t complain, even after Hilary explained what she did and the sea bear was unable to replicate it. She couldn’t blame her for being upset; it if had been the opposite way Hilary would have thrown a fit.

Feeling bad for the sea bear Hilary slapped her arm and convinced her to hunker down next to her. The princess shared her dried fruit, which Shyler seemed to enjoy, and found an empty glass jar in her bag. Hilary thought it had once held dried plums. As she had never encountered plums before the sea bear stuck her snout in the jar to sniff the new scent. To their shock the jar glowed chartreuse. Shyler dropped the jar and it shattered. The fragments slowly dimmed back to a dark clear.

“What did you do?” Hilary demanded. She wasn’t angry, just badly startled. That had been a regular glass jar.

“I just thought about what you told me,” Shyler stammered. “It would be neat if I could do the same thing as you.”

“I think you’re magic, Shy. I mean, sea bears are in general with the winter stuff, but this is different. Though maybe not that different? Mira made moss glow.”

“Mira can do a lot of cool stuff. I’m proud she’s my sister,” Shyler said.

“But Mira was still working natural magic on natural objects. You did magic on something clearly altered and man made. I remember Bryz saying in a lecture that’s a lot harder to do,” Hilary insisted. “I think you have the makings of a wizard. After we fix Wisconsin, you’re welcome to come back to my kingdom and learn magic if you’d like.”

Shyler didn’t have a response to that, but Hilary thought she looked pleased. It was cold and Noora seemed to be taking forever so Hilary buried herself in Shyler’s side. Luckily the sea bear didn’t seem to mind. From looking around Hilary had a feeling she was doing exactly what sea bear cubs did with their mothers.

Before Shyler decided Hilary needed something awful, like grooming, Noora returned. She looked very pleased with herself. Hilary avoided looking too closely at Noora’s muzzle because it was obvious her hunt had been successful. The princess had yet to reach a point where she didn’t mind sea bear eating habits. Jenni went over and sniffed their king for a bit before determining that Noora had eaten enough. After Jenni declared Noora properly fed the clan split in two, with the majority padding away off into the ice and snow of the Arctic Shelf. Now that there was only eleven sea bears and Hilary they were ready to go find the Frost Titan. Hilary hoped this would be a quicker process than the rest of the trip. She’d like to go home before her hair turned grey.

Once the clan was finally prepared they moved swiftly, Far too quickly for Hilary to keep up under her own power, so she found herself astride a sea bear again. While she had always been a great rider, she spent so much time here in the saddle on much wider beasts than she was used to Hilary was surprised she hadn’t become bowlegged. Hilary always rode Noora or Shyler. It wasn’t that the other sea bears were unsafe, they even seemed fond of her once Hilary broke out her fish puns, but they weren’t concerned with her safety the way her sea bears were. At night she and Shyler both slept wedged under Noora’s girth despite being adults—Shyler hadn’t complained once since she realized Hilary preferred it to being on her own in the cold—and Hilary was always comfortably toasty.

The princess’s frame of reference was completely shot. Thanks to the continual night and cold, time was of no concept. She rode until Noora called a halt to the night’s march, ate when sea bears brought her raw flesh, and slept when Noora stuffed her into her armpit. She could remember the last time she last noticed carnivore breath, even with her other supplies she had it too, and while Hilary had never been overly fond of baths, she hadn’t taken off her fur since she put it on. She wasn’t certain it could come off now. She even deciphered what some of the sea bears noises meant. They mostly described a general feeling and not exact meaning: hunger, annoyance, anger, amusement, boredom, dominance, submissiveness, etc. Hilary couldn’t mimic them, lacking the proper vocal cords for it, but she quickly learned how to avoid sea bears who weren’t in the mood for her foolishness.

What the princess couldn’t get used to was the silence. Sure, the sea bears made noise—grunts, snorts, the occasional bout of flatulence—the wind whistled by as it stole her heat, and the ground itself creaked and groaned as massive hunks of ice broke off falling into the ocean leagues away, but that was just noise. Hilary needed sound, speech, and communication. The trip north had been too stressful worrying about Noora’s health to care for her sanity. Now that she could focus on herself Hilary talked endlessly just so that she could hear the sound of a voice, even if it was her own. She told them about her life, family, home, and Amanda. After a while her stories got complicated enough that the sea bears had questions, and then Hilary went on tangents explaining culture and folklore. Much later Jenni told Hilary sea bear stories about the stars.

While eating was always a high point, Hilary’s favorite part of her night was the time right after Noora called a halt for rest. There was always a bit of time before the actual resting when the older sea bears groused to each other and the younger ones played. Hilary wasn’t much for the strength contests, but she was speedy and could throw a mean snowball like no one else. She loved this play because it gave her a chance to move and think, which wasn’t part of the rest of their monotony. The best times were when the games were inventive enough that they drew Noora into joining. Then it was all the younger sea bears and Hilary against the Bear King.

To her disappointment Noora announced at this halting that there would be no play, only eating and sleeping. Hilary quickly understood why though when Noora explained that they were on a crest just above the Plain of the Damned. That was an area filled with frost beasts and they did not want to attract their attention until they were ready for them.

“Okay, so what’s the plan?” Hilary asked excitedly.

“We charge en mass and cut a swath through the sea of frost beasts continually moving toward the Ice Palace on the other side,” Noora explained.

“Just charge right in? That’s not a plan, that’s suicide!”

“We stay tightly together leaving no gaps for the frost beasts to slip through. A phalanx formation is the best way to handle frost beasts.”

“Can’t we sneak by? It sounds like there’s a thousand of these monsters.”

“Thousands.”

That’s even worse!”

“Hush,” Noora growled.

“The Frost Titan creates the frost beasts and while they eventually wander away to destroy, they are thickest around her palace,” Jenni explained. “There is no safe route around them as they merge with the very ice and snow, so we cannot burrow under them. Nor is there a water passage to the Ice Palace we can traverse.”

“Unless you have something truly special in your bag of tricks we are not built for an aerial assault,” Tea snorted. “Though if you wanted, I could try throwing you across the Plain of the Damned, Hilary.”

“No thanks,” she said quickly. She was confident Tea was just displaying sea bear humor, but she didn’t want to push it. Sea bear jokes could easily turn deadly.

Since Bryz hadn’t given her anything for sea bear flight—he never could have realized it would be needed, and even if he had the wizard would have refused on the principle that sea bears were already too dangerous—Hilary couldn’t offer a better solution. Maybe she could summon Julie, but she still wasn’t willing to bother her fairy godmother. Julie still needed to recuperate and if the princess did summon her, and she actually appeared, the fairy would insist Hilary go home immediately, which would make the entire quest a waste. No, they’d do things Noora’s way and hope for the best.

Hilary woke to Noora licking her face. The unexpected wetness made her immediately awake and alert, though she was still a touch confused. Shyler seemed to be in the same boat as she looked around blinking blurrily. Once she caught sight of the serious expression on the Bear King’s face the princess was able to recall the task at hand. They had a fierce battle ahead of them. She drew her sword and inspected it to ensure it was ready. It had been so long since she last drew it the hilt had frozen to the scabbard. Luckily, once Hilary had it out it seemed fine. She had worried it might shatter upon contact from the cold.

She broke her fast with the last of her cheese before climbing onto Shyler’s back. The sea bears did not eat now. Instead quite a few of them growled and shook. The small sea bear under her quietly explained that sea bears never ate right before fighting as they feared it dulled their appetite for battle. That made some sense to Hilary, but she didn’t have the same energy stores they did. She was as ready as she could be. So girl and sea bear waited for Noora to start the attack.

They didn’t have to wait for long. After Hilary and Shyler were ready the other sea bears moved to form a tight circle around them. Noora was at the head of the group, of course. Being human she didn’t catch the signal, but suddenly the sea bears charged in mass over the crest and awkwardly shuffled down the ridge into the Plain of the Damned. Hilary was surprised Noora didn’t bellow at the start of the charge. That was the honorable way for a sea bear to begin battle. Jenni had certainly mentioned it in enough of her stories. Instead Noora waited until they were off the hill and making good progress across the plain before she bellowed. In fact the Bear King waited to announce the battle until the first of the frost beasts became aware of their presence.

When Noora finally roared Hilary understood the delay. Her thunderous bellow was deafening and the sound seemed to travel until it rebounded off the cliff at the other side of the plain. Thousands of animal heads made of ice and snow exploded from the ground followed by monstrous bodies, usually of completely different animals. They fell upon the sea bears howling like the wind. The sea bears snarled right back. A few of them roared up like Noora to drop their full weight on the magically created beasts, but most fought on all fours. Swipes of their massive paws caused the frost beasts to explode upon contact, but several more seemed to take the place of each one destroyed. Their progress had completely halted.

Hilary drew her sword. From her position of relative safety she wouldn’t get a lot of chance to use it, but some of the frost beasts did tower over the sea bears and others attacked their backs. Those were the ones Hilary could slay. She hacked off flailing tentacles and limbs of snow, dislodging riding frost beasts so that the sea bears could trample them into powder. At first Shyler wasn’t happy about Hilary’s participation, she had to keep the princess safe, but when more and more frost beasts rose right under sea bear paws they needed all the help they could get to keep the swarm at bay.

While there was no sun to keep time by, the moon and stars slowly revolved around their heads as the battle wore on. Hilary long ago lost track of how many frost beasts she ran through with her blade. That sort of figure was inconsequential. No, the worrying situation was that the sea bears were beginning to slow. It took a long time for Hilary to notice, but more and more of each sea bear was covered with icy foes attacking their hide. They attacked the frost beasts less frequently and with less force behind their blows. It shouldn’t surprise her; being of flesh and blood would eventually tire while magical creatures born of winter never would. The law of natures bound even the mighty sea bear.

Noora was almost entirely covered in frost beasts. They seemed drawn to her strength and power, with the vast majority of the frost beasts latching onto her. The Bear King shook her mighty mass and while most of the frost beasts were thrown, too many kept their grip. Hilary could see far too much red staining her friend’s fur. Frost beasts didn’t bleed.

Hilary urged Shyler forward to help Noora. All of the other sea bears were too busy battling their own frost beasts to avoid being consumed to be of any assistance. While she knew the sea bear had orders to flee once the situation got this bad, Hilary banked on Shyler’s loyalty to Noora being too high to leave. She was still too young to realize the wisdom of the Bear King’s orders. The princess’s hunch was right for the sea bear barely needed any prompting to go to her leader’s aid.

As soon as they were in range Hilary and Shyler struck. Shyler attacked the first frost beasts she came in contact with, while more sprang up to attack her rear. On the other hand Hilary switched sea bears to concentrate an attack on the frost beasts surrounding Noora’s head. The princess didn’t care how mighty a sea bear Noora might be; a bad head wound would kill her just as easily as it would Hilary. After lodging her sword in three frost beasts at once Hilary lost her grip on the hilt. It tumbled down with the frost beast remains. She still had her knife in her bag, but there was no time to dig it out leaving her weaponless. So Hilary used her fur covered hands to pry the frost beasts of her friend.

To her shock the Bear King snarled at Hilary and nearly bit her arm off when the princess removed the frost beast covering her eyes. That would have been a fine thank you for all the trouble she had been through. Hilary slapped Noora’s nose in retaliation. This made Noora roar, which dislodged more of the frost beasts, though she was nowhere near free.

“Go! Flee!” Noora thundered. Hilary shook her head. The Bear King roared some more, but the princess couldn’t understand her. It wouldn’t be anything useful for their conversation anyway. Something cold and burning caused extreme pain in her arm. When Hilary turned her head she found that a ram made of living snow had sunk its fangs into her. Noora bit the frost beast’s head off.

There was a scream of pain. Both Hilary and Noora turned to see Shyler bleeding. She limped toward the pair. Noora smashed a particularly large frost beast then tossed the princess at the smaller sea bear. She shoved the pair toward the massive ice palace with her nose and roared. Shyler may have been limping, but she took of at a run. The sea bear didn’t pause or stop, instead weaving around or leaping over the frost beasts as they surged forward. They needed to avoid any more direct engagement with the frost beasts. The pair wouldn’t win.

Shyler’s evasive maneuvers worked until three massive frost beasts rose up in front of them. They towered above them leaving no safe space for her to squeeze past. The sea bear halted in her tracks then whirled around for a hasty retreat. However, before she could take a step in retreat a fourth massive frost beast rose up boxing them into the trap.

Shyler snarled and widened her stance. Noora told them to flee, but when that was no longer an option she’d fight it out. Hilary gripped her fur, regretting losing her sword. It wouldn’t make a dent in these massive frost beasts, but at least it would be more honorable. As the massive frost beasts encroached, the princess had a horrifying realization. These weren’t giant single frost beasts, but dozens of the little ones mashed together like snowballs to make a snowman. Various heads hissed and howled at Hilary as they descended like an avalanche.

The first giant frost beast nearly knocked Hilary out when it collapsed on her, but the second one separated her from Shyler, which was even worse. She was surrounded by snow, incredibly cold, painful, biting snow. The tiny frost beasts sank their teeth and claws into Hilary’s flesh as their snowy bodies encased her entirely. She couldn’t breathe. The pain kept her aware as she struggled frantically, but Hilary couldn’t move. The snow was packed too tightly around her. There was nothing she could do except suffocate or freeze.

Hilary blinked back tears. She was going to die right here and she hadn’t fixed her screw up. Wisconsin was still frozen over and now Amanda would never get her kingdom back. She’d never earn the queen’s forgiveness, and worst of all, never tell Amanda she loved her. Hilary almost snickered as her vision went black. It was ironic as she was surrounded by all this white.

She woke up cold and flying. Before Hilary could gather what was going on she landed on something furry and nearly bounced off, but her half frozen limbs still worked well enough to latch hold. Noora roared, hurling piles of snow into the air. The Bear King dug a massive hole in the snow. She smashed frost beasts before they could finish forming, but every blow she struck splattered crimson across the snow. The sea bear kept bellowing the same word over and over again, but in her addled state it took Hilary forever to realize what that word was: Shyler. There wasn’t a hair of the little sea bear to be found.

As the princess slowly regained her senses the frost beasts rebuilt themselves into a giant one again. That seemed to work far better than just hurling themselves at the sea bears. When she spotted the giant monster Hilary yanked on Noora’s ear hard to get her attention. The sea bear paused her digging.

“We need to flee now!” Hilary shouted in the sea bear’s ear.

“But Shyler is still missing!” Noora howled.

“And you won’t do her a lick of good if we drown when that thing falls on us! Regroup then rescue!”

Noora stilled and Hilary thought the sea bear would ignore her instructions. Instead the Bear King charged the largest of the frost beast conglomerates. Hilary screamed in terror as her mount went for certain death. Noora blasted through the belly of the frost beast as it exploded around them.

She shot across the last of the Plain of the Damned and hit a wall, starting up the cliff face in earnest. Noora used her claws as ice picks to scale the cliff. Hilary clung to Noora’s fur for dear life. It was all that was keeping her from falling to her death. As the princess dangled she looked back for their companions. Hilary couldn’t see them through the writhing mass of frost beasts. That left a cold pit in her stomach that hurt even worse than the one Hilary had after she accidentally brought down eternal winter on Wisconsin. Here she had just left ten brave sea bears to die. She’d never be able to face Mira again. Hell, she’d never be able to face Julie again, if her fairy godmother still lived.

The ice cliff wasn’t very high, otherwise both girl and sea bear would have fallen to their deaths. As it was Noora collapsed as soon as they reached the top. Hilary let her rest for a minute as she scanned the area. Unlike the plain below this area in front of the palace was devoid of movement. Hilary walked around a bit and peered into the empty looking building, but refrained from going inside without Noora. She wasn’t abandoning her last sea bear, especially when she was her best friend. Hilary couldn’t count how many times Noora had saved her life on this quest. She had also promised to get Hilary home safely and the princess felt that went both ways. Noora had a mate and cubs waiting for her safe return.

Hilary returned to Noora. The sea bear cried pink bloody tears. As the princess watched the Bear King seemed to collapse in on herself as she sobbed over the lost sea bears. This didn’t sit right with Hilary. Watching such visceral grief from such a proud and mighty creature made her uncomfortable.

“Come on, Noora, we’ve still got work to do,” Hilary said, slapping the sea bear on the shoulder. “The sooner we finish the sooner you can go back to Mira.”

“How can I ever look at her when I killed our cub?” Noora wailed, paw over her eyes. “Shyler!”

“Maybe she’s not dead?” Hilary suggested doubtfully. There was no way anything could have survived that attack. Even with her superior sea bear lung capacity Shyler and the others must have been buried for too long now or else torn apart by frost beasts.

“I killed my little Shyler,” Noora cried. “My little bear.”

“She was really your cub, huh?” Hilary said, petting Noora. She had thought Shyler was Mira’s little sister and the twins were Noora’s first offspring.

“She was mine in every way that counted!” Noora snarled. “I raised her. I fed her. I played with her. I protected her. Now I have led her to her death. Oh Shyler, why did I let you come along?”

“She insisted upon it,” Hilary reminded her. “Shyler was a grown bear seeking honor.”

“Barely.”

“Barely is enough. Would Shyler rather be remembered as a foolish cub led to slaughter or a brave warrior who fell in battle protecting her clan leader and king?”

Noora glared at her as if this was the dumbest question that had ever been asked in existence. Hilary put her hands on her hips and glared back. She wanted the sea bear to answer. After a silence Noora admitted Shyler would have preferred the latter, just as any other sea bear.

“And if that’s the case do you think she would want you to give up halfway through before you completed your task? Before you brought Mira and the cubs home?” Hilary asked. “Would Shyler want you to fall apart at her death and allow her to die in vain?”

Noora nearly took her face off for that question. However, the princess’s prodding seemed to do the trick because the sea bear slowly rose to her paws. There was new resolve in her eyes to finish this task because it had cost her Shyler. Hilary would not want to be the Frost Titan now. 

The battle had weakened the sea bear making it difficult to stand, much less walk. So Hilary put her bad leg over her shoulders for support. Together they hobbled into the deserted palace. The echo of their footsteps and panting breaths reverberated off the walls, distorting the farther the sound traveled. As far as Hilary could tell they were the only critters around. It was weird. Considering how badly the surrounding area was infested with frost beasts she didn’t understand why they weren’t being attacked now. All the floors and walls were glazed over with ice and snow, so it seemed like it ought to be the ideal ambush environment, though Hilary could see stone at the core of all the architecture. Somehow having a palace of real building material that someone must have put together here on the Arctic Shelf seemed less natural than one formed solely of ice.

Girl and sea bear agreed to search the entire ice palace for the Frost Titan, as Noora was certain the Frost Titan could be found here. They walked through a massive hall past two empty thrones that looked as if no one had ever used them. They searched ballrooms, dining halls, and kitchens, all with their amenities fully stocked, but completely iced over. Half of the dozens of little rooms had their doors frozen shut. After an hour of brute force while using the magical tinder set from Bryz’s bag Noora and Hilary were able to pry a door open only to find the inside completely frozen solid. They decided to leave the rest of the iced doors alone after that.

Once they finished the first floor the search went much faster. Entire hallways on the upper levels were frozen shut as if the palace’s owner had decided they were no longer needed. When they found the two-story library Hilary felt her heart clench. It was fully stocked with thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of books encased in three solid inches of crystal clear ice. The ice was so pure Hilary could read the titles off the bindings with her light. She wasn’t much of a reader, but she loved it when Amanda read to her and Julie would have wept at the sight of this place. Her fairy godmother liked nothing better than jamming a pair of spectacles on her nose and reading in a comfy chair for days or even weeks at a time. She didn’t approve of wasting magic, but Julie made an exception for a toasty fire and ample light when she read.

They even explored the attics. Tiny sloping rooms that ought to be filled with storage or a fully equipped staff. These rooms had surprisingly little ice compared to the lower floors and Hilary wondered if the continual light they had for half a year at a time had affected the ice’s thickness. It couldn’t be a matter of density as ice always rose to the top.

On their slow descent Noora stopped in front of an elaborate wooden door. Unlike the others there wasn’t a speck of ice upon it allowing the princess to see that it was elaborately carved as if to tell a story. They had taken a different staircase coming down and ended up in a completely new part of the palace, which is how they had overlooked it before. Hilary was all set to just stomp her way into this new room, but Noora stopped her. The sea bear’s fur was standing all on end.

“Wait,” Noora whispered as well as a sea bear could. “I hear breathing.”

Hilary couldn’t hear a thing. If it weren’t for the sound of her own breath she’d have thought she had gone deaf. Her ears periodically rung as they explored just to give her something to listen to and Noora now sounded like she was practically roaring. Still, she didn’t argue with the sea bear. After all, Hilary wasn’t the one who could listen to her friend’s heartbeat from a dozen paces away.

“Think the Frost Titan’s in there?” Hilary asked. Noora shrugged as well as a sea bear could, Hilary had taught her the gesture, and scratched her head.

“This is the first sign of life. We proceed with caution, understood?”

Hilary readily agreed. This Frost Titan had to be incredibly dangerous considering all of the trouble this person caused. They opened the door, as silently and carefully as they could, which was shockingly easy to do. Inside the room there was only a thin layer of ice over the floor, about as thick as when the pond froze over at home, and a bit of frost snaking up the four posts of the canopy bed, which was centered at the back of the room. Otherwise all the furniture appeared to be in pristine condition.

One odd thing Hilary noticed as they approached the bed was that all the furniture was oversized. Hilary was not a small human; she could just barely see over the top of her father’s head and she towered over her mother. Yet in this room she felt like she was still a child. Even Noora didn’t look absurdly large in this room, like she had back home, though perhaps some of that had been the fact the Bear King had been crammed into a room with another sea bear.

When she reached the bed Hilary yanked back the canopy drapes prepared for the worst. She did not expect to find a large powerful looking woman with long dark hair asleep in a dainty nightgown. As princess and sea bear stared in shock Hilary suddenly realized she was shivering violently. The cold was bad enough even Noora was affected too. As impossible as it seemed, this woman appeared to be the source of the cold.

“This must be the Frost Titan,” Noora said.

“She doesn’t look like a Titan,” Hilary argued. “More like a human with a touch of giant blood. Or maybe troll. Pretty troll.”

“And what do you think a Titan looks like”

“Skeletal,” Hilary guessed. “Flaming?”

“Maybe if she were a Fire Titan that would be true, but this is the Frost Titan. Titans look like oversized humans and weild immense power. At least, that is how Tuuka describes them and if Jenni did not correct him that means he is right.”

“He’s the bear you left in charge of the clan?” Hilary asked.

”Mmm hmm,” Noora growled in affirmation. “Tuuka has been learning our history from Jenni and the other elders for years. He is wise and makes sound decisions… for a male. Someday he will make an adequate leader.”

Hilary let out a peal of laughter at this unexpected barb. She hadn’t expected that from Noora. However, the princes slapped her hand over her mouth quickly, as defenseless and laughing was not how she wanted to wake the Frost Titan. The noise seemed to have no effect though, as she continued slumbering undisturbed. Surprised, Hilary reached out and shook the Frost Titan. Lightly at first, but she quickly had the woman shaking like a rag doll to no visible effect.

“Do you think she is enchanted?” Noora asked.

“Maybe. Think I should try waking her with a kiss?” Hilary asked, trying to remember her basic disenchantments. It seemed like princess kisses solved most problems. “Or should we assume she’s hostile since you said we’d have to beat her into submission to get the frost beasts to leave and just stab her in the chest a few times. Most enchantments end with the death of the castor.”

“Then I should bite off her head. I can much more efficiently decapitate her with my teeth than you can drive a knife through her ribcage with your puny human arms.”

“And I would prefer none of the above.”

The pair looked down to see the Frost Titan staring at them coldly. Though in their defense she probably did everything coldly. She was a Frost Titan after all. Hilary had to admit she was kinda hot for an ancient terrifying menace. Noora had explained during their travels that the Frost Titan and her frost beasts had plagued the sea bears for generations.

“What do you want Bear King?” the Frost Titan demanded. “Why have you violated my territory?”

“Your plague has spread to Salmonland and frozen our food supply!” Noora roared. “You threaten the safety of my mate, my cubs, and my clan! What other reason do I need to defend my family?”

“Now your frost beasts are threatening my lands too,” Hilary added. “They are many days’ travel south of your lands. You have allowed a threat that can irrevocably harm the entire world to roam free.”

“What are you?” the Frost Titan asked, frowning at Hilary. “You wear a selkie skin, but have not the form of a seal and I sense no magic from you.”

“I am Princess Hilary of The Hub and I demand you recall your creations,” Hilary said. She chose to answer ‘who’ over ‘what’ because the other question was demeaning. Julie always told her never to debase herself, though hard work, charity, and a touch of humility could never hurt anyone.

“She is human,” Noora added, answering the Frost Titan’s actual question.

“Human,” the Frost Titan sneered. “I’d say you were bigger pests than all of my pets combined.”

“My fairy godmother says humans are the most resilient and inventive people on the planet,” Hilary replied hotly.

“I’ve know a few fairies in my time. I wouldn’t consider them to be quite the fount of wisdom you do. Flighty little creatures that constantly change their minds. Fairies are nice to look at and good for a laugh, but not much substance.”

“She’s the most substantial person I’ve ever met!” Hilary growled. Julie was a paragon of behavior, acting in the manner that was Right, if not always proper. Hilary would defend her fairy godmother with her last breath because she was what good strove to be.

“Then I pity your circle of acquaintances.”

“Enough!” Noora thundered, slamming a paw onto the Frost Titan’s chest. “You will recall your ‘pets’ immediately. They have killed too many of all manner of creature in Salmonland and they slew ten of my best and bravest kin just now. Do as I say or draw your last breath!”

“Your kin still live, Bear King,” the Frost Titan said, leveling a cool look at Noora, “but only at my leave. My beasts have contained them and they are subject to my whims.”

“Release them at once!” Noora ordered.

“I think not,” the Frost Titan said. “After all, if I did that I wouldn’t have any bargaining chips left and how could I ensure my wants are met?”

“We need proof of life,” Hilary cut in before Noora could do anything drastic. The Bear King’s honor had been impugned and that generally ended badly. She also didn’t want them dancing to the Frost Titan’s whims on the hope of retrieving dead friends, which was exactly what she told her.

“My bears were mobbed by frost beasts. They fought to the death with their last breath,” Noora rumbled. “I have seen what your monsters do to their victims; my bears are gone.”

“And I stayed their tooth and claw once the threat had been neutralized,” the Frost Titan insisted. “Do I not have complete mastery over all of my domain? My absolute control over my pets is why you sought me out. Your bears are alive for the moment.”

“Then show us,” Hilary insisted.

“Fine,” the Frost Titan snapped icily. She shoved Noora’s paw off her neck as if she were a gnat. “We will visit the dungeons.”

The trio proceeded to the dungeon. Hilary thought she had done a decent job exploring the palace before, but she was wrong. Everything was different with the Frost Titan. With the flick of her wrist or raising an eyebrow ice melted and reformed itself in new shapes. She led them into multiple new areas that had previously been frozen solid. The worrying part was that the Frost Titan sealed every room and passageway behind them. There would be no rapid escape if diplomacy failed them. On the other hand, the fact she hadn’t frozen them solid before girl or sea bear could react seemed like a positive. Hilary wondered if the Frost Titan assumed she’d keep getting disturbed by sea bears if she didn’t properly handle this now. There was no way Mira wouldn’t eventually come looking for her mate. She wished the same could be said of Amanda.

Eventually they reached a massive stair. Unlike the rest of the palace Hilary could see no stone under the ice. The Frost Titan was literally taking them within the ice cliff. Hilary suspected whatever cavern they found themselves in was created through magical means. As they descended the slippery steps Hilary found herself violently shivering again, but this time it was even worse than it had been in the Frost Titan’s bedchamber. The selkie fur couldn’t combat such a cold. She worried she’d shake to bits before they reached the sea bears.

With a cry Noora rushed past Hilary, nearly knocking over the princess. There was only one thing that could make Noora react that way; she smelled her sea bears. Hilary and the Frost Titan finished their descent at a slower pace. The cavern was… well, for lack of a better term, cavernous. Hilary’s light crystal could not even begin to illuminate the entire room. She heard Noora snarling somewhere in the dark. The Frost Titan lifted her chin sharply, as if in irritation and suddenly Hilary could see.

Noora paced furiously as a dozen frost beasts matched her step. They refused to allow her passage across the room to her sea bears. All the sea bears were there, but none of them appeared to be in good condition. Jenni rose to her feet and Tea had as well, but one of her eyes wouldn’t open. Kaapo sat heavily against the back wall as his cousin Meeri leaned against him. She licked a large bloody gash across his chest. Minttu lay on the ice panting heavily as if she couldn’t catch her breath. The others appeared in worse shape.

Hilary nearly cried when she spotted Shyler. The littlest sea bear was a bloody mess and from this distance Hilary couldn’t tell if she was breathing. What really scared the princess though was the fact Shyler looked deflated, as if the spark that made her Shyler had already left.

“I thought you said they were all alive,” Hilary demanded hotly.

“They are. Mostly,” the Frost Titan said, shrugging. “What does it matter if a few are lost? The majority persist and life continues.”

Hilary stared back at her in disbelief. She may look human, but that was where the similarities ended. The Frost Titan acted as if this proud and noble people were a population of insects beneath her feet. Noora’s obvious pain at being kept away moved her not in the slightest. The Frost Titan would not understand Hilary’s needs, hopes, or dreams, nor would any argument move her to withdraw her frost beasts from Wisconsin. Force might have worked, but the princess could see that despite the Bear King’s posturing they were utterly at the Frost Titan’s mercy and she didn’t have any. The quest had failed.

“Julie Chu, I need you,” Hilary whispered. Best to find out if she had killed her fairy godmother before the Frost Titan froze them solid. If she was alive Hilary could sure as hell use her guidance right now.

“Hilary, what have you gotten yourself into this time?” Julie asked before sneezing three times. She looked like a mess, hair tangled into a lopsided bun, wings drooping, and she had pink fuzzy slippers on her feet, but she was alive. Hilary hugged her tightly and wept freely. She didn’t care if she looked childish, Julie was more important.

“I’m so happy you’re alive!” Hilary blubbered.

“Of course I am. What ever made you think otherwise?” Julie laughed. “And why is it so cold? Where are we?”

“Oh, you need to save Shyler!” Hilary insisted, remembering why she needed Julie in the first place.

“Who’s Shyler?” Julie asked. The princess turned her fairy godmother around and pointed at the hurt sea bear. “Hilary, I told you to stay away from sea bears! It was bad enough when you brought two home, but now you’ve collected a dozen!”

“I know, but the magical winter kept spreading and my kingdom must be half frozen over. Noora brought me to the Arctic Shelf to fix things, but now her sea bears are hurt and I don’t want Shyler to die! She’s my friend, Julie. You have to save her.”

Julie let out a slow breath, which fogged around her head, then nodded. Hilary beamed down at her, gave her another quick hug, then stepped back. Her fairy godmother was the best. Julie strode across the cavern. At first the frost beasts raced up to her snarling, but when they reached her something strange happened. Instead of attacking they shied back whimpering. She reached Shyler’s side unchallenged and quickly went to work healing the sea bear.

This unprecedented behavior from the frost beasts had to be their mistress’s work. There was no way there were intelligent enough to avoid Julie on their own. Hilary turned to the Frost Titan and was shocked to find her frozen in place. She was completely focused on Julie, not even blinking when Hilary waved a hand in front of her eyes. This was so not the reaction Hilary had expected, not that she was complaining.

Julie gave basic first aid to all the sea bears. They really needed it. Once they were back on their paws the sea bears followed the fairy godmother past the cowering frost beasts. Noora nuzzled each sea bear in greeting. When it was Shyler’s turn she wrapped her paws around the little sea bear’s neck and rumbled at her. Hilary was interested in hearing the sea bears’ conversation, but she had an irate fairy godmother headed her way.

“What exactly have you been up to, Hilary, that could injure an entire battalion of sea bears this badly?” Julie demanded. “Do you have a death wish? Because if so I can—Caro?”

Julie screeched the last word halting dead in her tracks. She was staring in shock at the Frost Titan. Hilary turned to look at her foe and noticed the Frost Titan stood more awkwardly than before, as if she was unsure of herself, with the slightest hint of a smile gracing her lips. The princess may not know much, but she’d bet Wisconsin these supernatural women had history.

“Caro, what are you doing here?” Julie whispered.

“These are my lands, Julie,” the Frost Titan, Caro, replied. “The real question is what are you doing here?”

“I came because Hilary, my charge, called, just as I promised to always do at her christening,” Julie explained. “I will always help when she’s in need.”

“I seem to recall your promises not being worth much.”

“I never promised to live here with you! You refused to listen when I told you over and over again not to build here; that I didn’t want to live on the Arctic Shelf. Not even for you.”

“You promised to stay with me.”

“And I have, in spirit. You knew going in I didn’t want to be isolated from everyone and everything else in the world. I need people in my life.”

“So you chose them over me!”

“It’s been three centuries, Caro, get over it!”

“You promised me forever!” Caro howled.

Julie shook her head then set her jaw as she glared at the Frost Titan. Caro sounded like she was ready to throw a fit and from the way the cavern was already icing over Hilary didn’t think she or the sea bears could survive one. She had a suspicion Julie wouldn’t be harmed, but that would only be the case if Caro kept her emotions at least somewhat in check. If the Frost Titan really lost it her fairy godmother would be in danger too. Hilary had to do something before that happened.

“So, you two courted?” Hilary asked. It wasn’t really a question since the answer was obvious, but she couldn’t think of any other way to get a dialogue going. Julie was someone Caro cared about. If the princess could get the Frost Titan to engage she might be able to get her to let them go, or at least allow for escape.

“Yes,” Julie said shortly. She had obviously forgotten about the audience.

“She was my intended,” Caro hissed, still sounding wounded.

“We were betrothed as part of an alliance between the fairies and the Titans,” Julie explained. “I didn’t have a choice in the matter.”

Caro made an angry hurt noise as if ancient history still had the power to wound. Julie stared silently at her. Hilary didn’t like the grim expression on her fairy godmother’s face. It didn’t suit her and scared the princess a little.

“I loved you from the first moment I saw you,” Caro growled.

“Which is exactly why I didn’t get a say! You refused to compromise or even listen to anyone on the fairy council!” Julie snapped back. “You didn’t understand fairies in the slightest. I was certain I’d die sick and alone in less than a year living with you.”

“But you didn’t,” Hilary said, trying to keep it going. She didn’t have a clue if her fairy godmother heard her. Julie was completely focused on the Frost Titan, who shrank back from her, and lost in her memories. Unexpectedly her expression softened.

“Then you tried wooing me,” Julie continued. “You were so incompetent at it almost two years passed before I caught on to what you were doing.”

“I would have loved the presents I gave you,” Caro insisted.

“Perhaps they were great gifts for Titans, but that mountain crushed my house and nearly killed my sister.” The words were harsh, but Julie had a smile on her face as she said it. “Even if I did eat rocks I could never eat that many.”

“I don’t know how many times you’ll make me apologize for that, but I’m sorry.” Caro crossed her arms. “At least it got you out of the house.”

“By destroying it.”

“I gave you a new one!” Caro shouted, gesturing to the palace above them.

“Yes, in the last place I’d ever want to live!”

“I don’t understand what’s wrong with this place, I think it’s perfect.”

“It’s the coldest place on earth and there aren’t any neighbors!”

“Exactly!”

“Let’s take a moment and breathe,” Hilary interjected, holding up a hand to silence the both of them. “I’m sensing a lot of negative energy here when we should be focusing on the positive.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Caro grumbled.

“Caro, if you’re going to be negative here, why don’t you tell us some positive things about Julie? It might change your outlook on talking things out,” Hilary suggested. That actually got the Frost Titan to shut up. After a bit of prodding on the princess’s part she was able to get her to speak.

“She makes my heart melt and stirs up emotions,” Caro said, crossing her arms. “I don’t like how that makes me feel. Especially when she’s gone.”

Hilary tried several different techniques to try and get her to say more, but she wasn’t budging on the subject. The more she prodded the more Caro closed up. Since she wanted her to keep talking and interacting Hilary decided to switch to Julie. It took a while to convince her fairy godmother to participate, but she finally managed it.

“Well… she’s big and strong,” Julie began.

“Go on. What else do you like about her?”

“She’s dependable. When she says she’ll do something it will happen no matter what,” she continued, warming up to the subject. “When she wants to be, she’s surprisingly thoughtful and caring. Building this monstrosity was her idea and made to her specifications, but Caro didn’t have to spend the better part of a century tracking down books she thought I would have an interest in for the library.”

“I thought it would make you happy,” Caro said softly.

“It did! It was a delightful surprise. I just think we both would have enjoyed tracking down the manuscripts together even more. Think of the adventures and bonding we could have had.”

“I wanted to do something nice for you.”

“And I wanted to do something, anything, with you!” Julie brushed hair out of her eyes, bristling and angry. “You get these grand wonderful ideas, Caro, and the end results are usually fantastic, but the process comes at my expense! I have never felt more alone than I did when you trapped me up here on the top of the world with only you for company and then you’d lock yourself in your workshop for weeks at a time. I can only read in a freezing library for oh so long before it became unbearable.”

“I showed you how to change the temperature here.”

“Yes, but the system responded first to your preferences and you liked it colder than I can handle. I didn’t dare sleep without you around for fear I wouldn’t wake up.”

“I… I didn’t know.”

“No you didn’t, but you would have if you hadn’t left me alone all the time.”

“I gave you company!”

“The frost beasts were an incredibly sweet gesture and they were a lot of fun to play with when we were together,” Julie admitted. “But then you got sucked into creating the perfect frost beast and left me alone, seemingly for good. They were fun enough pets, but of limited intelligence and cuddling them was like hugging a snowman.”

“You never had that problem with me.”

“Because despite your temperament you are a warm caring individual under your frosty exterior. The frost beasts aren’t. They’re just a bit if ice and snow brought to life with your magic. They aren’t you, Caro. I couldn’t talk to them.”

“Well, maybe you talk too much,” the Frost Titan retorted, clearly on the defensive.

“You think two words in a century is two too many!”

“Okay, Julie got some important things off her chest, but it’s time to rein it in, ladies,” Hilary interjected. The former couple ignored her.

“How long was it before you noticed I had left?” Julie demanded.

“I don’t know,” Caro growled. “Does it matter? You left, that’s the important thing!”

“I waited for you all alone in this forsaken ice palace for a year! When I eventually left I was weak and out of my mind. When I finally regained my senses I swore I would never willingly set foot in my former prison again.”

“You’re here now!”

“Only to rescue Hilary!”

This statement brought the attention of both supernatural entities back to the princess. Hilary cringed under the scrutiny. In unison both women grabbed her wrists. Caro’s hand was burning cold and in comparison Julie’s normally pleasant touch was burning hot. From the looks on their faces Hilary realized the possibility of being pulled apart was very real. Julie would regret it later, but that wouldn’t make Hilary any less dead.

“Have you two ever considered compromising?” Hilary yelped.

“I have compromised too much for her already!” Julie snarled.

“Is this really how you want to lose the love of your life, Caro?” Hilary asked, turning to the Frost Titan. “Sure, you could trap us all here for the moment. The sea bears and I would die in your grip, but once we were gone Julie would have no reason to stay. Sooner or later she’d slip away and never come back.”

“I won’t let that happen!” Caro howled, yanking on Hilary’s arm.

“Even if you trap her here you won’t have Julie,” Hilary continued rapidly. “A relationship isn’t just about being here, it’s about _being_ here for her. You won’t have Julie’s touch, or her smile. Her thoughts won’t drift to you inexplicably. Nor will she mend your tunic when you rip it or steal a raspberry tart from the cook for you because you got in trouble and spent half the night mucking out the stable. You’ll never hold her when she cries and make her feel better just by doing that. I will never get to see her again if you trap us here and that is unacceptable!”

Hilary burst into tears. They were hot angry tears and while the water would probably freeze before they fell off her chin she needed to get the anger out. Before she knew what was happening Julie let go of her wrist and wrapped her arms around her. The fairy godmother pulled her charge’s head to her breast. Hilary gladly accepted the comfort. Disregarding the fact Caro was going to trap her here for the rest of her life Hilary really missed Amanda. She always missed the queen when they were apart for more than a few weeks. Even worse, she had been mad at Hilary for months, causing a rift in their friendship that was a much worse separation for the princess.

“What should I do?” Caro asked, releasing Hilary’s wrist. When she didn’t immediately respond the Frost Titan poked her in the shoulder and repeated her question.

“Why don’t you ask Julie?” Hilary suggested. “She’s right here.”

“If we could solve this ourselves we would have done so centuries ago.” The Frost Titan had a point.

“I still think compromise is the solution. Compromise on your part, Caro,” Hilary added before Julie could speak.

“I cannot compromise. I am a Frost Titan.”

“Yeah, but frost is just frozen water. Water is incredibly dynamic, undergoing vast chances, but still retaining its inherent properties. So… be water and go with the flow without changing your core values. It seems like the most natural choice since you even say Julie melts your heart.”

“But what does that mean?” Caro demanded, frustrated.

“Stay up here when you want to work or be alone and come south when you want to see Julie. She’s one of the most agreeable people I know and clearly still cares about you, so I doubt she’d turn you away, if you come to her on her terms. However, don’t you ever try to force her back to the last place on earth she wants to be. You two can be together, but it has to be a partnership, not your dictatorship.” Caro nodded as she listened intently, so Hilary decided to push her luck. “And while you’re at it, call your pets home. They’re problematic for everyone and Julie’s having a hard time keeping them from killing everyone.”

“Done,” Caro said.

“Just like that?” Hilary said. “You’re calling all the frost beasts home?”

“Yes. If calling them home helps patch things up I will do it,” Caro said, smiling. The smile was for Julie. “I’m happy to make the first move. I did the same last time.”

“Great, now that that’s settled I guess we should go home,” Hilary said, clapping her hands together. She turned to Noora. “Are all your sea bears alright?”

“They will live, albeit with a few more battle scars,” Noora rumbled. Tea scratched at the claw marks across her left eye as the Bear King smiled at her. “Luckily they have the stories to support them.”

“Are you going back to Salmonland now?” Shyler asked.

“Yeah. I don’t know if we’re walking back or Julie will transport us,” Hilary said. She looked over at her fairy godmother, who was listening to Caro whisper earnestly. She had a faint smile on her face.

“I think she is otherwise engaged,” Noora chuckled. “Just as well. The last time she moved me with magic I could barely eat anything for a week.”

“That was barely?” Hilary squawked. “You ate a cow that first night!”

“And I had not eaten in a week. Otherwise I would have eaten three,” Noora explained, baring her teeth. “My fasts always end in gorging.”

“Okay.” Hilary grabbed onto Noora’s coat and hoisted herself back up onto the Bear King’s back just behind her shoulders. Perhaps she ought to walk up the stairs on her own, but she was tired and cold and Noora never seemed to notice her weight. “Julie, we’re headed out!”

“Alright,” Julie responded distractedly. A moment later though she turned to them hastily, as if the words had finally penetrated. “Do you want me to take you home?”

“Naw, it looks like you’re a little busy.” There was also a grumpy Frost Titan glaring at them from over the fairy godmother’s head.

“Well, call me as soon as soon as you get home or if you run into trouble. Whichever comes first.”

Hilary saluted her to let her know she heard as Noora started up the staircase. When they made it out of the ice palace the party was a little leery of crossing the Plain of the Damned again considering their prior experience. However, this time they made it across without incident. There were still frost beasts there, but they sat around as if in a stupor. Others were sprawled out as if asleep. No one was stupid enough to poke at any and provoke them into an attack. The sea bears might be foolhardy, but they weren’t that reckless. Besides, everyone still had wounds healing.

Most of the sea bear battalion parted ways with Noora and Hilary once they reached the rest of their clan, however Shyler insisted in coming with them. Considering the fact she was still recovering from serious injury Noora wanted to refuse, there were wyrms in the arctic waters that might be difficult to circumvent, but ultimately she gave in to her request. She couldn’t say no to that hopeful excited face after everything that had happened and having Shyler along would make the return trip safer. Three adult sea bears moving two cubs was much safer than only two.

Hilary was thrilled to have the extra company. It made the otherwise dull and mostly uneventful ocean crossing more exciting. The trip north had been a fast paced unforgiving slog as they were racing the clock to try and end the eternal winter. Now they were, if anything, even more eager to return to Hilary’s kingdom, but they moved at a slower pace. Both princess and Bear King wanted Shyler to look as healthy as possible before Mira caught sight of her. Hilary had a suspicion that Noora was worried her mate might maul her if the little sea bear wasn’t in peak condition when they arrived. They also didn’t want to charge head first into danger when they had finally completed their quest and were on their way home to collect their reward.

After weeks of swimming they finally made landfall on actual land instead of an iceberg or singular rock sticking out of the ocean. Hilary never paid that much attention to it before, but she was thrilled to sink her toes into sand and after a bit of exploring even found a patch of mud. This area did not look like it had suffered from unnatural winter’s blight. In fact the blooms suggested spring was in full swing here and had been for a while. That gave the princess pause.

“Noora, where are we exactly?” Hilary asked.

“North of Salmonland’s mountain range. It will be another two-day swim to circumvent the range, unless you want to climb up and over it instead. I do not. That would take far longer.”

“Are you sure? This doesn’t look like Wisconsin to me.”

“Of course she is!” Shyler insisted. “Noora’s traveled to Salmonland loads of times!”

“There is a narrow strip of beach all along the Salmonland Mountains where seals and selkies like to sunbathe. That is where we are now. Half a day’s journey in that direction by paw, less if you swim, leads to a massive river. If you follow that river to its source up in the mountains you reach Fish Head Spring. I know exactly where we are,” Noora explained, baring her teeth. Or maybe she was smiling. Hilary still found it hard to tell sometimes.

“Okay, okay,” Hilary conceded, holding up her hands defensively. “I just wanted to double check we were in the right place, since there aren’t any signs of it having been frozen solid recently.”

As this was just a pit stop to give Hilary the chance to get off a sea bear and stretch her legs they left shortly thereafter. Sure enough, another two days travel and the princess could see the familiar sight of Green Bay Harbor. It was breathtakingly surreal to see Wisconsin from this angle. From a distance the cluttered chaotic harbor was stunningly beautiful. She’d have to make a point of seeing more of Amanda’s kingdom, and her own, from the back of a sea bear.

The harbor acted as if it had never shut down due to obscene winter. That probably explained why the dockworkers freaked out when two sea bears leaped out of the water. Hilary clung tight to Noora’s neck as both sea bears shook themselves dry. She shut her eyes to keep the droplets out of her eyes and when she opened them again they were ringed by a nervous harbor patrol and night watch. All of them were nervously rattling spears. Sea bear sightings always brought out a town’s full defensive force and it was clear from the way they were acting they had never dealt with one before, much less one of Noora’s size.

“I guess we shouldn’t have picked the busiest point in the bay to land,” Hilary laughed, trying to ease the tension and draw attention to her presence. They couldn’t be that terrifying if they let a human ride them.

“There are so many humans,” Shyler breathed. “But they aren’t furry like you, Hilary. Did they shed their winter coats already?”

“Hilary wears a selkie fur. Underneath that skin she is just as naked as these other humans. Maybe more so,” Noora rumbled, eyeing some of the beards the guards sported. Hilary clocked her ear.

“Greetings, we come in peace!” the princess shouted. “You may lower your weapons.” Not a single spear moved.

“Why are they waving those little sticks?” Shyler asked. She raised a paw as if to reach out and touch one. All of the guards freaked.

“Put that down right now!” Noora bellowed. The order was directed at Shyler, and she quickly planted her paw on the dock, but a lot of the guards dropped their weapons too. Half of them scrambled to reclaim them, while the other just stood there. A couple men ran away abandoning their post.

Hilary winced. She had forgotten how badly humans reacted to sea bears. Over the past months she had become completely accustomed to Noora’s noise and behavior so that it barely fazed her. That was going to bite her in the butt if she wasn’t careful. No one else in Wisconsin would think Shyler was just a cute and cuddly cub.

“I am Princess Hilary of The Hub and these sea bears are under my protection,” Hilary continued. “We have just returned from the Arctic Shelf after successfully ending your unnatural winter and are on our way to see the Queen. You will let us pass.”

“Oh? What proof do you have that you are who you claim to be?” demanded a grizzled older man. He looked to be the leader of Green Bay’s protective forces.

Hilary threw back her hood and shook out her mane. She was surprised how easily it came loose, as her hair had been plastered to the back of her neck since she first put on the fur. Considering how little she had on underneath the princess didn’t dare remove anymore, but with her face clear there was some small chance of recognition.

“Do you know anyone else able to pull off riding a sea bear?” she asked. When that didn’t convince him she tried a different approach. She slipped off Noora’s back and stepped toward him. “Look, I know I’m royalty and it doesn’t matter if you believe me. I’ve got two sea bears for companions and Noora could lay waste to your entire community if you don’t let us pass. However, I’d like to avoid that because Amanda’s already angry enough with me. I can’t imagine how much destroying her busiest seaport would piss her off.”

“If anyone delays us any longer I will eat them,” Noora growled. “I need to be reunited with my family. Now!”

Hilary stepped in front of the Bear King and shoved her chest as hard as she could. Noora could have resisted easily enough, but the human caught her off guard and forced her to step back. This was good because Hilary needed to appear in charge. Humans were way more likely to listen to her than a sea bear any day. Some people even claimed they couldn’t understand when a sea bear talked, that it was just unintelligible grunts and roars of a dumb animal. Hilary had never liked that opinion, but now that she knew a few sea bears she was ready to banish people with that wrong notion.

“My friend’s family is currently in the Queen’s care,” Hilary said. That probably wasn’t true, but Amanda and her parents weren’t that different under these circumstances. “There’s only so much I can do to keep the King of the Sea Bears from rending you limb from limb if you continue standing between her and her family.”

“But the Queen,” one of the guards began.

“Don’t worry about her! She’s got Sir Bozek, Sir Ruggiero, and me focused on her safety.”

She didn’t really think adding herself to the list of Amanda’s protectors would improve matters, but Hilary couldn’t help it. She would protect her best friend with her dying breath. Maybe Hilary didn't give them enough credit or maybe the truth was completely obvious on her face. Whatever the case, the leader lowered his spear and ordered the other guards to follow suit.

Hilary, Noora, and Shyler were able to peacefully pass through Green Bay, albeit with armed guard following them on their way out of town. Green Bay must have sent message of their journey, likely by carrier pigeon or magic as Hilary didn’t see a messenger pass them, ahead for they were met by each village’s defense forces and carefully escorted around the settlement. If this was her kingdom Hilary would feel highly insulted by the treatment—and in all honesty she did feel a bit annoyed, she was a princess and her best friend’s subjects should not be treating her this way—but the sea bears appreciated it. After the first town the allure of meeting new humans quickly wore off for Shyler because they were all so hostile toward her and Noora’s stance had always been that most humans weren’t good for anything other than eating. Though after spending all this time with Hilary the Bear King no longer used that turn of phrase.

At Milwaukee they met some of the Queen’s knights. More importantly Sir Duggan was with Amanda’s people. The moment the knight laid eyes on her princess she leaped off her horse. Before she could drop into proper genuflection Hilary pulled her friend into a bear hug. It was so good to finally see a friendly human face again. Duggan was more than happy to hug Hilary back, but the knight soon tired of the embrace and struggled her way free.

“You’re a real sight for sore eyes, Meghan,” Hilary laughed.

“As are you, your highness,” Duggan replied. “I am delighted to see you have returned and still in one piece.”

“Well, we’re not quite home yet. Speaking of which, what the heck are you doing in Wisconsin, Dugs? I would have thought I’d run into Bozie or Angela here. You know, Amanda’s people.”

“Queen Amanda is still residing at Blixt Castle with your parents. She wished to continue negotiations with the sea bears,” Duggan explained. “Bozie and a compliment of her court are at the castle. In exchange a few others and I are here, mostly at Madison Castle, awaiting your return. We all assumed it was imminent as Wisconsin thawed out.”

“Mira is still in Hilary’s castle?” Noora asked.

“Yes,” Duggan affirmed. The knight had never embraced referring to Noora by her title. Luckily sea bears generally didn’t care about titles.

“Then let’s get going,” Hilary said. “We’ll skip Madison and head straight to Blixt. Now who’s going to give me a horse?” The three had traveled by foot since their landing, as Wisconsin in the full throes of spring was too warm for the sea bears to carry any excess weight.

Being a prepared and seasoned knight Duggan had brought along an extra horse specifically for Hilary. Two falcons were dispatched to the respective capitals of both kingdoms announcing Hilary’s return and their plans. The sea bears set the pace for the last leg of the journey home. In such warm weather they could not run and often had to take breaks. When Duggan suggested they instead travel by night that improved their travel time considerably. At the border they were met by a group of Hilary’s people and so the Wisconsin compliment returned to Madison Castle. Soon they were traveling down roads Hilary could navigate blind.

They reached Blixt Castle at daybreak. Hilary stopped the company for a brief moment just to look fondly at her home. She couldn’t wait to see everyone again. Apparently Noora felt the wait was too long because after a minute of silence she rose on her hind legs and let out a mighty roar that blasted across the capital city. All the humans turned and glared at the Bear King for disturbing the peace. The noise had hundreds of citizens turning out of their homes looking for danger. The group waited for a bit in hopes the population would calm down before they brought two sea bears through Town Square. Hilary was almost ready to resume when another roar sounded, this one coming from the castle, alarming everyone once more.

“That was Mira!” Shyler yipped excitedly. She hit Noora in the shoulder then nosed Duggan’s leg, freaking out the horse badly enough to almost throw her.

“Steady Shyler,” Noora laughed. “Yes, she knows we are coming now. That is why I called.”

Hilary met Duggan’s eyes over the happy sea bears. The princess grinned as the knight rolled her eyes over their antics. Before anything else could delay them they finished the ride home. One benefit of Noora’s unexpected roar was that it put the castle guards on alert so that they had the drawbridge open by the time Hilary arrived. The castle chamberlain wanted to send them all to freshen up, but Noora just pushed past him. She wasn’t going to let anything else delay her reaching Mira. Hilary trailed behind her as she was interested in seeing the reunion and besides, no one else she was interested in seeing right now was out of bed yet at this hour. The castle must have gotten used to sea bear roars by now.

The moment she caught sight of Mira Noora let out a small hurt noise and quickened her pace. Shyler came bounding after her. Mira rose to her paws just in time for Noora to collide with her. She gently bashed her skull into her mate’s forehead and wrapped a paw around her neck. Both sea bears ran open maws across the other’s neck. Shyler waited impatiently while they greeted each other almost bouncing in place. Before the necking could become an extended affair she head butted Mira in the shoulder shouting her name.

“Shyler!” Mira greeted her happily, running a paw over the younger sea bear’s head as Noora laughed. “You have grown so much!”

“I had my first battle!” Shyler announced proudly.

As the little sea bear recounted her involvement the cubs awoke. Shyler was a touch annoyed having her story interrupted by whining cubs, but she quickly got over it, interested in meeting her nieces. Noora was even more excited to see the cubs. She marveled out loud at how much her daughters had grown. The cubs were squalling because they were hungry and soon Mira reclined again to let them nurse. Noora hunkered down beside her, pressed into her free side. Shyler seemed at a loss until Mira asked her to finish telling her story. So the little sea bear sat in front of the two most important people in her life and resumed her tale. Both Mira and Noora looked thrilled to hear it.

“I don’t know how you’ll feed this many sea bears for very long,” Amanda commented. “Just Mira and the cubs have seriously depleted your supplies.”

“Amanda!” Hilary shouted, whirling around to face the queen. Before she could think better of it Hilary flung her arms around the other woman. Amanda allowed the hug to persist for half a minute then pushed the princess away. She hadn’t hugged back. Hilary tried to hide her hurt.

“I see that you were successful,” Amanda said.

“Well yeah, I wouldn’t be back if I hadn’t been.”

“Come on.” Amanda grabbed Hilary by the wrist and gently tugged. “Let’s let the sea bears get reacquainted. We need to talk.”

Hilary followed willingly enough. Amanda was right; they needed to talk. There was a jumbled mess of politics, emotions, financial interests, and a botched marriage proposal between them. Hilary wanted to fix things now and not let them fester like Julie and Caro had. They didn’t have eternity, after all.

Amanda led her into the cartography library. It was a much smaller space than their main library and furnished in a more utilitarian manner. Both Hilary’s knights and Amanda’s entourage tried to follow them into the library, but the queen ordered them out. This was a private conversation. However Duggan refused to leave until Hilary told her to go. She appreciated her knight’s protectiveness and loyalty, but Hilary really needed to have this conversation with Amanda. Both of them preferred to have it in private.

Once they were finally alone neither one of them seemed to know where to begin. Hilary flopped down into the most comfortable chair in the room and waited for Amanda to join her. Since the blonde was the one who asked for this chat she figured she had something she needed to get off her chest. However, Amanda gravitated toward the windows and stayed there looking out. Hilary soon became impatient with this behavior. She had come to talk, not be ignored.

“You wanted to talk,” Hilary began, breaking the silence. “So talk.”

“You threw my kingdom into eternal winter,” Amanda said, still looking at the window.

“That was an accident!” Hilary growled, getting to her feet. “I apologized over and over again, which you wouldn’t accept, then journeyed to the top of the world to fix it! What more do you want from me?”

“Do you have any idea how long you were gone? Months, Hilary! We feared you were dead. With my kingdom frozen solid and my people subjected to a magical sleep all I could do was wait for your return.” She paused, taking a shuddering breath. Hilary wanted to say something, but she couldn’t interrupt Amanda. Not during this. “I didn’t think that it would actually happen. Mira and I worked on the treaty every day, mostly to keep our minds off you and Noora.”

“Did you actually create a treaty with the sea bears?” Hilary asked curiously. No human had ever managed that.

“We hammered out a rough contract, mostly focused on trade and not eating humans except in self defense. Noora will need to sign it, but Mira doesn’t think she’ll have any problem with the terms,” Amanda said. She turned sharply toward Hilary. “That’s not the point and you know it!”

“What is the point?” Hilary asked.

“You keep doing things, usually stupid things, without consulting me or considering how it will affect me! I didn’t even find out you had shown up and wrecked my negotiations because you wanted to propose until weeks later when you offered to let Noora eat you! Don’t you think you ought to have told me first? Or at least before you told the giant sea bear!”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think—”

“—Damn right you didn’t think! If Noora had eaten you there was no way I’d be willing to work with the sea bears! Not even if it ended the winter!”

“But, what about your people?”

“Of course I worry about them; they’re my responsibility,” Amanda said, brushing hair out of her eyes. “But I don’t know them. Not like I know you.”

“Amanda.”

“I would be devastated if you died. Especially if it was over some foolish notion that you were doing something I wanted. Don’t you ever use me as an excuse for doing something this stupid again.”

“What should I have done?”

“Talk to me!”

“You shut me out!” Hilary shouted back. “I tried over and over again, but you refused to respond! You know I can’t just sit back and wait, I never have, so it wasn’t a shock I had to do something. It’s not in my nature to be passive.”

“And you know I need time to cool off and process things. You threw my country into winter within minutes when we had been experiencing late summer. That’s not something you get over in one night.”

“Then you should have told me you needed time.”

“I thought that was self evident! Hilary, it was all I could do not to strangle you after this massive screw up. I would have regretted that later.”

“Yeah?” Hilary said hopefully.

“You’re my best friend, Hils, and probably the only person in the world who understands my situation. I hate to think about my life without you in it.”

“I feel the same way about you. That’s why I wanted to propose.” Hilary reached out to touch Amanda’s jaw. The Queen of Wisconsin smiled faintly at her. “You know, our fathers had planned to merge our kingdoms before you were born.”

“What made them change their minds?”

“Guess they figured you’d want a prince instead of a princess. Or maybe they figured I’d want that. Whatever, they were wrong about me. You’re the only one I’ve ever really wanted, Amanda. So, would you marry me and unify our kingdoms? If you want, you can be top dog. I’ve always made a better knight than queen.”

Amanda opened her mouth to respond, but before she could Hilary’s parents burst into the room. They were thrilled their daughter was home and promptly mobbed her. Hilary didn’t get a chance to get back to Amanda because the moment her mother caught a whiff of her odor the princess was banished to the bathtub. Hilary tried to protest, she had only just gotten home and hadn’t eaten since yesterday, but all that got her was the promise a maid would bring her tea in the tub.

As she soaked in her bubble bath nibbling on a ham crumpet Hilary remembered she promised to call Julie when she got home. Figuring she ought to honor her promise before she forgot again she summoned her fairy godmother. Right into the bathtub. Julie shrieked when she came in contact with warm wet water.

“Whoa, whoa, Julie, calm down,” Hilary said, grabbing her arm. “Didn’t mean for you to land in my bath.”

“Why did you summon me now while you were in here?” Julie demanded. She stood up causing water and glitter to roll off her. Hilary was a little surprised to see her fairy godmother was in the most absurd tunic she had ever seen. It was bright red with massive white flowers and tree branches painted all over it. Hilary had never seen something so absurd. She didn’t know what had caused her fairy godmother to wear it. She hoped it wasn’t love, that didn’t bode well for her own future fashion sense if it did.

“This was the first moment I had after remembering I was supposed to let you know I arrived safely. You said as soon as I got home, remember?” Hilary explained. “I hadn’t realized you’d end up soaked and what the heck are you wearing?”

“It’s a tropical tunic.” Julie said defensively, pulling at the hem. “Caro decided to take me to an active volcano since she knows how sick of the cold I am. We were enjoying lava side seating when you pulled me here. It had been a nice dry heat and Caro was willingly suffering it for me. She’s going to be very unhappy I left her there.”

“Then next time don’t tell me to call you as soon as I get home!”

“No, you did the right thing. I was worrying a little as more and more time passed without hearing from you,” Julie sighed. “Are you alright, Hilary? Is there anything I need to do for you before I go back?”

“Not really. I just asked Amanda to marry me and haven’t gotten an answer back yet,” Hilary admitted. “Whatever her answer I’m probably going to be laying low for a while. So you should go back and enjoy your time with Caro.”

“Good luck my dear,” Julie said, bending down and kissing Hilary’s forehead. “I hope you get the answer you’re looking for. Anyone would be lucky to spend their life with you.”

“Thanks Julie,” Hilary grinned.

Julie smiled and disappeared in a puff of glitter, presumably going back to that volcano and her frost titan. Hilary sneezed, sending the glitter flying everywhere. It swirled across the top of her bath and hastened the rapid depletion of her bubbles. Hilary did her best to clean it all off, but she eventually emerged from her wash wrinkled like a prune with magenta glitter clinging to her body and hair.

“Did you have a good bath?” Duggan asked as the princess made her way to the dining hall for breakfast.

“Yes. Why do you ask?” Hilary asked, looking back at her friend as she entered the hall.

“Because you’re sparkling,” Duggan laughed.

Hilary rolled her eyes, but laughed too. It was a decent joke and she did kinda deserve it, as the glitter was obvious. Her parents also commented on her new look, which allowed Hilary to quip about it before explaining that she had just talked with Julie. As she didn’t really want to reveal the contents of her quick talk with her fairy godmother—if Amanda said no Hilary never wanted anyone to ever hear about her failed marriage proposal—Hilary asked what everyone else had been up to while she was in the tub.

“We have a treaty with Salmonland,” Noora rumbled. “Sea bears will stop eating humans for sport and in exchange Salmonland will provide us with new foods, such as honey and fruit.”

“There will be an armistice between our peoples,” Amanda added. “Hopefully this will lead to other types of trade and a greater understanding of each other. I know the sea bears will be a powerful ally.”

“I was gone for less than an hour. How did you guys finish so quickly?” Hilary asked.

“I read through the conditions and they seemed acceptable. I trust Mira to have argued for the best terms possible,” Noora growled, looking at her mate over one of the two moose carcasses the castle staff had provided for sea bear consumption. Mira smiled back, but had to break up a fight between the cubs over a broken rib bone.

“You’ve placed a lot of faith in her.”

“She is the smartest sea bear I know, my mate, and my clansman. How could I not trust her decisions?” 

No one could argue with that logic so the diners fell into a silence. Hilary glanced over at Amanda, who was quietly focused on eating. The whole time Hilary stared at her the queen didn’t look up from her food once. That seemed like a bad sign to the princess. Surely if she was going to say yes she’d look at her at least once. That looked like guilty avoidance to her.

“What are your plans now, Bear King?” Hilary’s father asked.

“We plan to stay for a few more days then start the journey home,” Noora rumbled. “Shyler would like to see more of your culture and I want to reacquaint myself with my cubs. They need to mind me before I take them through wyrm infested waters.”

“I’m sorry to hear you’re leaving so soon,” Hilary said. 

“The cubs have been south for far too long. It is time we take them home,” Mira said. “I am sorry we have such little time together left, but this is the right choice.”

“You too, Shyler?”

“Yeah, I need to help them get the twins home,” Shyler said. She scratched her ear looking a bit uncomfortable then asked, “Would it be alright if, once the cubs are older, I came back to see more of humanity? I had never realized there were so many colors in the world until I met you, Hilary.”

“Of course,” Hilary said, surprised. “You’re a friend, Shy, and I would be honored to have you come back to my kingdom.”

“The same applies to Wisconsin,” Amanda added to Shyler’s confusion. “Ah, Salmonland.”

“Thank you!” the little sea bear yelped then shyly retreated behind her sister.

“Now that you have your kingdom back and a new treaty in place, what do you plan to do now, Amanda?” Hilary’s mother asked. “I cannot imagine what new challenge you have in mind. Or are you planning to take a break?”

“My next plans are a little closer to home,” Amanda said, finally looking up from her food. “I have a wedding to plan.”

Hilary choked on her bacon. Amanda glanced over at her with a smirk. The look on her face suggested this was payback for Hilary’s past behavior. This unsettled feeling was definitely not something she ever wanted to experience again. At least everyone else seemed like the news caught them off guard too. The princess could hear courtiers at the lower table murmuring among themselves at this news. Bozek broke protocol and asked her queen who she could possibly be marrying.

“Hilary,” Amanda said, nodding at the brunette.

“Why?” Bryz demanded, looking back and forth between the women wide eyed. “I love you, your highness, but why would Amanda possibly marry you?”

“There are lots of reasons she’d marry me,” Hilary said defensively. Bryz and her parents just stared at her silently. She refused to defend Amanda’s decision. It could stand just fine on its own.

“She is right, for once,” Amanda agreed, smiling at Hilary. “There has been a decades long discussion concerning merging our kingdoms and I believe that is the right decision. Wisconsin and The Hub compliment each other and together would be far greater than the sum of its parts. This would also be a good way to control the damage Hilary does to my foreign policy.”

“You’re never going to let me forget this,” Hilary snapped.

“Yes, because you went off half cocked and caused a magical winter because you thought I was going to marry the Bear King!”

“That was quite amusing,” Mira said, laying a paw on her mate. Noora just growled in annoyance.

This launched an earnest discussion of wedding plans. Amanda still had a lot to plan, but Hilary was a little surprised by how much of the groundwork she already had in place. It was almost like she had thought about marriage, specifically with Hilary, before. Still, Hilary could handle very little wedding talk before she got bored and she quickly tuned things out. Amanda was going to marry her and that was really all that mattered to her.

After breakfast Hilary had to get some air. It was too cloying being inside the castle with all these people. She went straight up to the roof where she wouldn’t be disturbed. Hilary was a people person and normally her home would be fine, but after her recent adventure she just needed a bit more space to get used to being human again. Plus she had so not expected Amanda to announce their engagement like that or for the reasons. She didn’t even mention their friendship as a reason to her folks.

“Hey,” Amanda greeted her as she joined the princess at the parapet. “You okay?”

“I felt a little blindsided at breakfast,” Hilary admitted. “I guess that was payback for making you feel that way over the years?”

“Sort of. Announcing it that way was, but I’m surprised you were ever in doubt of what my answer would be,” Amanda said. “It was always a pretty obvious yes.”

“Oh yeah?” It sure hadn’t been obvious to Hilary.

“Hils, I’ve liked you for years. Why do you think I’ve put up with your antics for so long?” Amanda asked. “I was planning to ask for your hand a year after my coronation, after a proper mourning period had passed, but I figure I can accept an offer after seven months of ruling and surviving a magical catastrophe.”

“I had no idea.”

“The last year before this whole mess started had been like a dream. You’d been incredibly nice and sweet to me, none of your teasing had an edge the way it sometimes did when we were kids. I figured I had finally left enough of an impression for you to notice me.”

“You left more than an impression; I’ve still got the scars from meeting that griffin in my skivvies.”

“If you had been better about keeping your tights on around Lady Marie-Philip you would have met that griffin fully dressed,” Amanda said pointedly.

“Who keeps spreading this slander about Marie-Philip and me?” Hilary demanded. “I never did anything sexual with her.”

“Hilary, fess up. I already agreed to marry you, so I think I deserve the truth. Your story about freeing the mouse from her skirt stinks worse than a soiled chamber pot.”

“Fine,” Hilary sighed, covering her face with a hand. “Marie-Philip came into the room while I was still dressing from getting better acquainted with her lady-in-waiting.”

“Go on,” Amanda chuckled.

“Hey, I said there was nothing sexual with Marie-Philip, not that I didn’t get any,” Hilary said defensively. “If that had been it we would have ignored each other while I finished dressing and never again talked about it. The problem was Marie-Philip had been alone lying ill on a fainting couch for the past hour. She only came back to her room because she was about to host my mother’s embroidery circle there.”

“Oh no,” Amanda groaned, the pieces falling into place.

“Right? Marie-Philip was still looking for a husband at that point, so the last thing she needed was a scandal involving Princess Hilary. Even if I told the truth, everyone would have assumed Gen fell on a sword for her mistress’s reputation.”

“But couldn’t you have come up with a better hiding place than her dress?”

“There was no time!” Hilary insisted. “Her door was already opening and there was no place to hide, so when she told me to get under her skirt I did. The plan had been that as soon as Marie-Philip got the ladies settled she’d make an excuse to go into her bedchambers alone and I could escape out the window. Problem was that Marie-Philip really was sick and she fainted again. That’s when they found me.”

“That's… a lot less exciting than the rumors circulating led me to believe.”

“Yeah, I definitely didn’t make her faint from cunnilingus while she was talking with my mother. I have boundaries, Amanda!”

“I never said you didn’t!” Amanda protested. “I just wanted to hear the truth. From you.”

“Well, that’s what happened,” Hilary said, crossing her arms. “No one believed me. Not my parents, her parents, the court, or even Julie. Do you have any idea how much money I personally had to add to her dowry to get out of marrying her?”

“Yes.”

“Oh. Yeah, I guess you would have found that information out considering your interest,” Hilary conceded, scratching her temple. “Anyway, that’s a whole story.”

“It was better than I expected. You have a real talent for getting yourself into sticky situations.”

“I know,” Hilary groaned. She planted her face on the stonework; sincerely hoping she was not about to get a lecture. Bad enough getting those constantly from her parents and fairy godmother, but she couldn’t take it if her fiancée started in on her too. Not only had Hilary just rescued her kingdom, but Amanda was younger than her too.

“Any future messes had better be with me.”

Hilary looked up in surprise. Amanda grinned down at her. It was really more of a smirk actually, one that promised a lot of mischief in their future. The queen reached out and cupped the princess’s cheek, then bent down to kiss her. When she pulled away Hilary had a matching smile on her face.

“Was that a promise?” Hilary asked.

“Maybe,” Amanda replied, drawing out the work. It was totally a promise, or perhaps challenge would be a better word.

Hilary laughed and pulled Amanda to her. The blonde came willingly enough and wrapped her arms around her neck. She kissed her several times rapidly before setting her on the top of the parapet. Hilary was strong, but it was hard supporting an entire queen for an extended period with just her neck. The women grinned at each other. Hilary felt a surge of giddy fondness as she stared at Amanda. She couldn’t wait to marry her. As she leaned in to kiss her some more Hilary wondered if the first time they’d be caught in a compromising situation together would be before or after the wedding. While she’d like it to be the latter, from the way Amanda had just grabbed her Hilary suspected the former. Oh yeah, definitely the former.


End file.
